Japanese PM : Next week, Takaichi is scheduled to hold elections.

Japanese PM: According to Kyodo News, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is getting ready to dissolve the House of Representatives at the beginning of the normal Diet session on January 23 in order to hold an extraordinary general election in February.

The action would be the first nationwide election since Takaichi’s inauguration in October.

The proposal is made while Takaichi’s Cabinet continues to enjoy comparatively high levels of popular approval over three months into her term. Party strategists think an early election may help stabilize her government and improve its mandate, since the governing coalition is clinging to a narrow majority in the influential lower chamber.

The normal Diet session’s beginning date of January 23 was officially authorized by the Cabinet on Tuesday. But at a lower house steering committee meeting, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) declined to provide a timeline for the prime minister’s policy address, indicating that plans for a snap election are in motion, Kyodonews said.

Voters may go to the elections on February 8 or February 15 if the lower house is dissolved on January 23. Official campaigning may start as early as January 27 or February 3. Despite her hectic diplomatic schedule, which includes South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s visit this week, Takaichi is anticipated to make her final choice shortly.

After the LDP’s long-standing coalition with Komeito fell apart due to a funding scam, Takaichi became Japan’s first female prime minister and formed a governing alliance with the Japan Innovation Party (JIP). With almost two years left in the present lower house term, Takaichi seems prepared to look for a new public mandate for her aggressive security posture and expansionary spending-focused economic plan.

Her foreign policy stance may potentially be strengthened by an early election, especially since her remarks on Japan’s possible reaction to a Taiwan emergency caused a rift with China. But there are dangers with the timing. Since parliament would first need to affirm the prime minister and create a new Cabinet, a snap poll would make it more difficult to enact the fiscal 2026 budget by the end of March.

The idea of an early election has drawn criticism from opposition parties, who claim it goes against Takaichi’s declared focus of tackling growing living expenses. However, preparations are being accelerated by political parties of all stripes. While the Democratic Party for the People has cautioned that its support for important budget measures may no longer be guaranteed, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan is investigating further collaboration with Komeito.

Only twice in Japan’s postwar history have February elections taken place, the last being in 1990. If verified, Takaichi’s choice would be a risky move meant to change Japan’s political climate at the beginning of her tenure.