Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi formally dissolved the House of Representatives on Friday, triggering a snap general election scheduled for Feb. 8 in a move aimed at securing a public mandate for her administration’s policy agenda just months after she took office.
The dissolution of the lower house came at the opening of the regular Diet session, a step not seen at the start of a session in roughly 60 years, according to news agency Kyodo.
In an official statement released by the Cabinet Secretariat, Takaichi argued that major policy shifts — including her administration’s economic measures to counter persistent inflation, structural fiscal reforms and national security initiatives — require direct public endorsement.
“Now that we have implemented immediate measures, we need to step up our efforts to realize a major policy shift,” Takaichi said in the statement. “If we do not begin implementing bold policies and reforms now, it will be too late.”
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This is a bold move, signaling a strong turn to the right. If she wins big, which is likely, this will influence Western politics by example. ABN
American Buddhist Net 