Japan PM Calls Early Election Amid Strong Approval

By Staff, Agencies

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has announced a snap election, seeking to leverage strong approval ratings just three months after becoming the nation’s first female leader.

Takaichi, a conservative facing escalating tensions with China over Taiwan, announced on Monday that she will dissolve Japan’s lower house on January 23, with elections set for February 8.

Speaking at a press conference, Takaichi, who took office after the resignation of her predecessor, said she wanted voters to judge whether she was “fit” to continue in the role.

The next lower house election wasn’t due until 2028, but Takaichi is betting her personal popularity can reverse the Liberal Democratic party’s [LDP’s] recent losses, which forced her to form a fragile coalition with the conservative Japan Innovation Party.

After a strong start meeting Trump and Xi, Takaichi angered Beijing by suggesting Japan might intervene militarily if China threatened Taiwan. While the remark has boosted her popularity, calling an early election still carries major risks.

Takaichi’s coalition plans tax relief and may ban ministerial fundraisers to ease public anger, while pushing this year’s supplementary budget and next year’s full budget. Her slim majority faces a challenge from the new Centrist Reform Alliance, formed by the main opposition Constitutional Democratic party of Japan [CDPJ] and the LDP’s former coalition partner, Komeito.

Takaichi hinted at her bid for a public mandate, posting on X about her “fresh determination” to lead Japan, and visited a memorial for her late mentor, former PM Shinzo Abe, in her Nara constituency.