Japan PM Takaichi readies snap election and sources say she’s considering Feb 8 ballot

TOKYO – Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to dissolve Parliament next week and call a snap parliamentary election, the secretary-general of her party said on Jan 14, as she seeks public backing for spending plans that have rattled financial markets.

Ms Takaichi is considering holding the election on Feb 8, two ruling party lawmakers said, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

“We need to seek a fresh mandate,” Mr Shunichi Suzuki, secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), told reporters after meeting Ms Takaichi on Jan 14, adding that she would outline her plans on Jan 19.

Japan’s first female prime minister will be looking to ride a surge in public support since coming to office in October, despite triggering a major diplomatic row with powerful neighbour China.

Mr Suzuki said the ballot would allow voters to judge the LDP’s new coalition with the right-wing Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin. Ms Takaichi formed the alliance in 2025 after breaking with Komeito, the LDP’s longstanding and more liberal partner.

“One reason for dissolving Parliament is that the previous election was under the LDP–Komeito government; the public has not yet rendered a verdict on the change in our coalition partner,” Mr Suzuki added.

The vote will also test public appetite for Ms Takaichi’s plans to boost government spending to revive growth and increase defence outlays under a revised national security strategy, Mr Suzuki said.

Reports last week that she was considering a snap poll triggered a sell-off in Japan’s yen and government bonds as investors fretted over how one of the world’s most indebted advanced economies would pay for her fiscal expansion.

The election also comes amid the worst dispute in more than a decade between Asia’s two biggest economies.

Ms Takaichi said in 2025 that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute an existential threat to Japan – remarks Beijing has demanded she retract.

She has not done so, prompting Chinese countermeasures including advising its citizens not to travel to Japan and issuing a curb on dual-use exports.

“The election would presumably be won on her handling of the economy,” said Mr Jeremy Chan, a senior analyst for North-east Asia with political risk consultancy Eurasia Group.

“The upside for Takaichi of a convincing victory, though, is that it would also signal to Beijing that she is here to stay and China’s suite of coercive tactics are not going to succeed in driving her from office.”

With the timing of the election likely to complicate passage of the 2026 Budget before the fiscal year ends in March, Ms Takaichi is considering a temporary spending plan, the Yomiuri newspaper has reported. REUTERS