Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has said she will dissolve parliament on Friday and call a general election to seek voter backing for her spending plans and other policies.
According to Al Jazeera, the snap election announcement on Monday, January 19, comes just three months into her tenure as the nation’s first female prime minister.
Takaichi told a news conference, “Today, I, as the prime minister, have decided to dissolve the lower house on January 23.”
The snap vote on February 8 will decide all 465 seats in parliament’s lower house and mark Takaichi’s first electoral test since becoming prime minister.
Calling an early election would allow her to capitalise on strong public support to tighten her grip on the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and shore up her coalition’s fragile majority.
The election will test voter appetite for higher spending at a time when the rising cost of living is the public’s top concern. A poll released by public broadcaster NHK last week found 45 percent of respondents cited prices as their main worry, followed by diplomacy and national security at 16 percent.
NHK reported last week that Takaichi would call snap elections while taking into account her diplomatic schedule.
On January 13, the prime minister hosted South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in her hometown of Nara to discuss the two nations’ security and economic ties.
Tokyo shares jumped more than 3 percent on Tuesday on speculation that Takaichi would call snap elections to capitalise on strong poll numbers.
