Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to dissolve parliament for a snap election, seeking a stronger mandate for her fiscal and defence policies
TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will officially announce plans to dissolve parliament for a snap election on Monday.
Media reports indicate she seeks a stronger mandate to push through her ambitious policy agenda, including “proactive” fiscal spending and a boosted defence budget.
The country’s first woman leader is banking on her high personal poll numbers to lead the unpopular ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to victory.
Her ruling bloc, which includes coalition partner the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), currently holds only a slim majority in the powerful lower house.
“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 recently approved a record 122.3 trillion yen (USD 768 billion) budget for the fiscal year starting April 2026.
Opposition parties criticise the snap election plan, saying it risks delaying the budget’s passage to address inflation.
“Carrying out policies to tackle inflation should be first, before holding the election,” Masaaki Tokuno, a 64-year-old bicycle lot manager, told AFP.
The LDP is reportedly weighing a campaign promise to cut the tax on food purchases to ease the pain of soaring costs.
A snap election may also help Takaichi break a deadlock in a diplomatic spat with China by showing she has strong domestic support.
Ties deteriorated after Takaichi suggested in November that Japan could intervene militarily if China attacked Taiwan.
However, analyst Mikitaka Masuyama warned a win could prompt China to intensify pressure through trade controls or other means.
According to an Asahi newspaper poll, 60% of people surveyed are worried about the impact of a worsening Japan-China relationship on the economy.
The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) and Komeito have agreed to join forces to fight Takaichi in the election.
