Japan’s Parliament to elect prime minister next week, with Takaichi poised to win

Japan’s Parliament will hold a vote on Feb 18 to elect the next premier, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi almost certain to win, when it convenes for the start of the 150-day special Diet session on the same day.

The schedule, approved in a Cabinet decision on Feb 13, comes as Ms Takaichi’s months-old government holds a stronger hand in the House of Representatives after her ruling Liberal Democratic Party scored a landslide in the Feb 8 lower house election.

The prime minister is expected to launch her second Cabinet after the vote. Senior administration sources have said she intends to retain the lineup from her first Cabinet appointed when she became premier in October 2025.

The special session is likely to focus in its early stages on the timing of the enactment of the initial budget for fiscal 2026, which had been expected to pass by the end of March ahead of the April start of the fiscal year, before the snap election was called.

Speeches by the prime minister and three other senior ministers will be held on Feb 18.

The schedule’s Cabinet approval comes after it was officially conveyed to the ruling and opposition parties by the government earlier in the day.

The special session is expected to last at least until July 17, matching the length of the ordinary session of the Diet, which was dissolved on its opening day in January for the election.

In the election, the LDP and its junior coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, won 352 seats, more than two-thirds of the powerful lower chamber, up from the razor-thin majority the coalition held before the vote. KYODO NEWS