Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Friday dissolved parliament ahead of a snap general election scheduled for February 8, betting on strong public approval of her cabinet to secure victory for her otherwise unpopular ruling party.
Japan’s first female prime minister announced the move earlier this week, seeking a fresh mandate to tackle rising living costs and boost defence spending. The speaker of parliament formally dissolved the powerful lower house on Friday, reading out a letter as lawmakers shouted the traditional rallying cry of “banzai.”
Takaichi’s ruling coalition, comprising the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Japan Innovation Party (JIP) currently holds only a slim majority in the lower chamber. While public support for the prime minister herself remains high, the LDP has struggled with low approval ratings amid a series of scandals.
“It’s not clear if high public support for the Takaichi cabinet will translate into votes for the LDP,” said Hidehiro Yamamoto, a political science professor at the University of Tsukuba. “What the public are concerned about is measures to address inflation.”
Government data released Friday showed inflation eased in December, helped largely by subsidies for electricity and gas. Core consumer prices excluding volatile fresh food rose 2.4 percent year-on-year, down from three percent in November, though still above the Bank of Japan’s two percent target.
Rising prices were a major factor behind the downfall of Takaichi’s predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba, whom she replaced in October. After decades of deflation, Japan has faced a sharp increase in living costs, compounded by a weak yen that has driven up import prices.
Rice has become emblematic of the crisis. Prices more than doubled in mid-2025 compared to a year earlier before easing slightly. Official data showed rice prices were still up more than 34 percent in December year-on-year.
Vowing to stabilise the world’s fourth-largest economy, Takaichi’s cabinet has approved a record ¥122.3 trillion ($770 billion) budget for the fiscal year starting in April 2026. Opposition figures argue that dissolving parliament could delay its passage. Jun Azumi of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) said the move would “sacrifice livelihoods.”
Tax relief and debt concerns
If re-elected, Takaichi has pledged to cut the sales tax on food for two years to ease inflationary pressures, a proposal also backed by opposition parties. Critics, however, warn that aggressive fiscal spending could further inflate Japan’s massive public debt, projected to exceed 230 percent of GDP in fiscal year 2025–26. Takaichi has defended the approach as “responsible.”
The prospect of tax cuts has unsettled bond markets already rattled by the stimulus package, with yields on Japanese government bonds surging amid concerns over debt-financed spending.
On Friday, the Bank of Japan left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.75 percent following a two-day policy meeting. The central bank has raised rates several times since early 2024 to curb inflation and forecast that price growth will fall below two percent in the first half of 2026, citing government anti-inflation measures.
Tight race expected
The LDP has governed Japan almost continuously for decades, despite frequent leadership changes. The CDP has now joined forces with Komeito to form a Centrist Reform Alliance, hoping to attract swing voters.
Analysts say the election could be closely contested depending on the alliance’s performance, though the opposition remains an underdog.
“The key could be the voting behaviour of young and middle-aged voters, as seen in the upper house election in July,” Mizuho Research & Technologies said in a note.
Takaichi’s government enjoys strong backing among younger voters, with around 90 percent support among those under 30, according to a late-December poll by the conservative Sankei Shimbun and Fuji Television.
AFP
