TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will officially announce Monday (Jan 19) her plans to dissolve parliament for a snap election, media reports said, hoping for a stronger mandate to push through her ambitious policy agenda.
The country’s first woman leader, Takaichi, is banking on her high poll numbers to lead the unpopular ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to victory.
After signalling her intentions to party officials last week, Takaichi will lay out her plans for a vote expected as early as Feb 8 during a press conference Monday, the Yomiuri and other media outlets reported.
The LDP has governed Japan almost uninterrupted for decades, albeit with frequent leader changes.
Takaichi was appointed prime minister in October and her Cabinet is riding high in the polls, despite her party’s flagging popularity.
But her ruling bloc – which includes coalition partner Japan Innovation Party (JIP), only has a slim majority in the powerful lower house of parliament.
This could hamper the passage of her policy agenda, including “proactive” fiscal spending and boosting the defence budget.
“If the LDP can get a majority by itself in the lower house, that’ll help her pursue policies” without concessions to other parties, said Sadafumi Kawato, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo.
Takaichi’s Cabinet approved a record 122.3-trillion-yen (US$768 billion) budget for the fiscal year from April 2026, and she has vowed to get parliamentary approval as soon as possible to address inflation and shore up the world’s fourth-largest economy.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/japan-pm-sanae-takaichi-call-snap-election-stronger-mandate-5867946
