Japan Snap Election Set for February 8
During a Tokyo press briefing, Takaichi revealed lawmakers will face dissolution Friday during a previously scheduled legislative session.
The 104th leader of Japan assumed office last October after winning her party's leadership contest.
The ballot was initially slated for no later than October 2028, making this an unprecedented early vote.
To secure the premiership, a party or coalition requires a minimum 233 seats within the 465-member lower chamber of Japan's bicameral legislature.
"Should I be the prime minister, I would like to ask this to people," Takaichi stated when questioned, signaling her readiness to confront a unified opposition front.
She additionally unveiled a proposal eliminating consumption taxes on food products for a two-year period.
Following Monday's announcement, official campaigning commences Jan. 27.
The previous general election for the lower house's four-year mandate occurred in October 2024, when Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) surrendered its majority position.
Subsequently, the LDP also forfeited its upper house majority last July.
Takaichi, Japan's groundbreaking first female prime minister, currently heads a minority government sustained by the Japan Innovation Party since the LDP selected her as president last October.
Her administration has prioritized "political stability" as essential for implementing nationwide reforms, media reported.
The accelerated election follows the merger of two opposition parties into the Centrist Reform Alliance (CRA), directly challenging Takaichi's LDP and its coalition partners.
The alliance has committed to alleviating economic burdens while presenting an alternative to "divisive" governance.
The CRA emerged from a partnership between the primary opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the LDP's former coalition partner Komeito.
Takaichi also addressed escalating friction with China, characterizing Beijing's export restriction measures as "economic coercion."
Sino-Japanese relations have sharply deteriorated since November, when Takaichi declared a Chinese assault on Taiwan could legally represent a "survival-threatening situation," potentially authorizing Japan to invoke collective self-defense rights.
Those comments triggered fierce condemnation from Beijing, which subsequently warned Chinese nationals against traveling to Japan and reimposed prohibitions on Japanese seafood imports, alongside restrictions on exports of dual-use materials with military applications.
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