Japan PM to call new elections

Prime Minister of Japan and President of South Korea play drums together at official meeting Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to dissolve parliament next week and call early general elections, the general secretary of her ruling party said on Wednesday. Takaichi is considering a February 8 election date, according to a source with knowledge of the matter, in line with previous local media reports. “We need to seek a new mandate,” Shunichi Suzuki, general secretary of the Liberal Democratic Party (PLD), told reporters after meeting with Takaichi on Wednesday. Japan’s first female prime minister, Takaichi, is seeking to capitalize on the surge in popular support for her government since taking power in October. Suzuki said the vote would allow voters to express their opinion on the LDP’s new coalition with the right-wing Japan Innovation Party (Ishin), after Takaichi severed ties last year with its former liberal partner Komeito. “One of the reasons for dissolving parliament is that the previous election took place under the PLD-Komeito government; the public has not yet spoken out about the change in our coalition partner,” Suzuki added. “One of the reasons for dissolving parliament is that the previous election took place under the PLD-Komeito government; the public has not yet had its say on the change in our coalition partner,” Suzuki added. ” Takaichi will present his election plans at a news conference on Monday, he added. The vote will also provide an opportunity to test public acceptance of plans to increase government spending to revive growth and raise defense investment in line with a revised national security strategy, Suzuki said. Reports last week that Takaichi was considering early elections triggered a wave of selling in Japanese yen and government bonds as investors worried about how one of Japan’s most The world’s debt burden would finance its fiscal expansion plans. The news also comes amid the worst diplomatic spat in more than a decade with powerful neighbor China, triggered by Takaichi’s statements on Taiwan, and on the eve of a planned visit to Washington to meet President Donald Trump in the spring. As the timing of the vote could make it difficult for parliament to pass the 2026 budget by the end of March of the current fiscal year, Takaichi is considering an interim spending plan, according to the Yomiuri newspaper.

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