Japan's PM Takaichi Calls Snap Election for Feb 8 Amid Policy Shifts

While addressing a press conference on Monday, Takaichi said official campaigning will begin on January 27 after she dissolves the Lower House on the opening day of ordinary parliamentary session, Japan's news agency Kyodo News reported. It will be Japan's first national election since Takaichi assumed office in October last year.

Sanae Takaichi said she will seek judgement of people on "major policy shifts" after a coalition deal between Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party in October last year. She said that she wants ruling-bloc to have majority in the upcoming polls.

She has pledged to end "excessive austerity" while expressing her commitment to Japan's long-term sustainability. Takaichi said she will set "clear and objective benchmarks" to increase market confidence in government finances.

She has announced a plan to exempt food from the consumption tax for two years to ease burden of rising living costs on households. As the ruling-bloc holds only a razor-thin majority in the lower house, Takaichi has stressed the need for "political stability" to allow her government to make reforms as she wants.

The ruling-bloc remains a minority in the House of Councillors and needs support from opposition parties to pass bills and budgets. Opposition parties have denounced Takaichi's plan to call snap election, saying she is keeping political considerations ahead of passing the initial budget for fiscal 2026, starting April.

During the news conference on Monday, Takaichi said she wants lawmakers to approve the initial budget bill for the next fiscal year "as soon as possible" to reduce any negative effect, stressing that she announced February 8 as the election date for this reason.

A former television anchor, Takaichi, entered Japanese politics in 1993 after winning a seat in the Lower House as an independent. Takaichi joined Japan's LDP in 1996 and entered the Cabinet for the first time under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. She held the position of the Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs. Later, she went on to become the first woman to chair the LDP's Policy Research Council.

From 2022 to 2024, Takaichi was Japan's Economic Security Minister. She also holds the record as the longest-serving Minister for Internal Affairs, a post she held in several tenures.

Takaichi, a prominent voice of the LDP's conservative wing and advocating its causes for a long time, was elected as the leader of the LDP after receiving 185 votes. She defeated Shinjiro Shinjiro, who garnered 156 votes in a runoff after none of the five candidates in the party leadership race secured a majority in the initial round of voting.

- IANS