Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi set to call snap election after only 3 months in office
Published: 23 Jan. 2026, 14:41
![Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, left, and a lawmaker speak before dissolving the lower house during an extraordinary Diet session at the lower house of parliament in Tokyo on Jan. 23. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/23/41e87daf-f3f4-4cd6-9dad-cf7fb3c57c71.jpg)
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, left, and a lawmaker speak before dissolving the lower house during an extraordinary Diet session at the lower house of parliament in Tokyo on Jan. 23. [AP/YONHAP]
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is set to dissolve the lower house of Japan's parliament on Friday, paving the way for a Feb. 8 snap election. This is widely seen as an attempt to capitalize on her popularity to help her governing party regain ground after major losses in recent years.
Elected in October 2025 as Japan's first female leader, Takaichi has been in office only three months, but she has seen strong approval ratings of about 70 percent. She announced plans for early elections on Monday.
Her move to dissolve parliament will delay a vote on a budget aimed at boosting a struggling economy and addressing soaring prices.
Takaichi is also seeing rising animosity with China since she made pro-Taiwan remarks. And U.S. President Donald Trump wants her to spend more on weapons as Washington and Beijing pursue military superiority in the region.
The dissolution of the 465-member lower house, to be announced by Fukushiro Nukaga, the house speaker, at Friday's opening session, paves the way for a 12-day campaign that officially starts on Tuesday.
Takaichi's plan for an early election aims to capitalize on her popularity to expand a governing majority in the lower house, the more powerful of Japan's two-chamber parliament.
The scandal-tainted Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition have a slim majority in the more powerful lower house after an election loss in 2024. The coalition does not have a majority in the upper house and relies on winning votes from opposition members to pass its agenda.
![Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, right, and other lawmakers speak before dissolving the lower house during an extraordinary Diet session at the lower house of parliament in Tokyo on Jan. 23. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/23/e1251333-ce19-4ea4-bf3c-454ac679da6a.jpg)
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, right, and other lawmakers speak before dissolving the lower house during an extraordinary Diet session at the lower house of parliament in Tokyo on Jan. 23. [AP/YONHAP]
Opposition leaders criticized Takaichi for delaying passage of a budget needed to fund key economic measures.
“I believe that the only option is for the people, as sovereign citizens, to decide whether [I] should be prime minister,” she told a news conference Monday when announcing plans for the election. “I’m staking my career as prime minister on [the election].”
A hard-line conservative, Takaichi wants to highlight differences with her centrist predecessor Shigeru Ishiba.
Takaichi stresses that voters need to judge her fiscal spending moves, further military buildup and tougher immigration policies to make Japan “strong and prosperous.”
While an upbeat and decisive image has earned her strong approval ratings, especially among younger people, the LDP is not popular as it recovers from a political funds scandal. Many traditional LDP voters have shifted to emerging far-right populist opposition parties, such as the antiglobalist Sanseito.
![Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, center in blue jacket, bows as other lawmakers cheer after dissolving the lower house during an extraordinary Diet session at the lower house of parliament in Tokyo on Jan. 23. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/23/6e9e8409-6948-4570-b3c0-cb7a50f8a4da.jpg)
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, center in blue jacket, bows as other lawmakers cheer after dissolving the lower house during an extraordinary Diet session at the lower house of parliament in Tokyo on Jan. 23. [AP/YONHAP]
Meanwhile, Japan faces escalating tensions with China after Takaichi made remarks suggesting that Japan could become involved if China takes military action against Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing claims as its own. A furious China has increased economic and diplomatic retribution.
Takaichi wants to push further military buildup and spending increases, and Trump has pressured Japan to spend more on defense.
AP
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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