Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is poised to announce a snap parliamentary election less than three months after assuming office, according to government officials speaking anonymously to local media outlets. The anticipated announcement, scheduled for Monday afternoon, would set in motion the process for electing all 465 members of Japan’s powerful House of Representatives.
Takaichi, Japan’s first female prime minister and a protégée of the late Shinzo Abe, has maintained remarkably high approval ratings between 60-80% since her October inauguration. Her conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) currently holds 199 seats in the lower house, with its coalition partner Japan Innovation Party providing just enough additional seats to maintain a slim majority.
The prime minister, often compared to Margaret Thatcher for her staunch conservative stance, has pursued an assertive foreign policy agenda that has significantly strained relations with China. Her November remarks suggesting Japan could deploy self-defense forces in response to potential Chinese aggression toward Taiwan triggered a diplomatic crisis, sending bilateral ties to their lowest point in over a decade.
Concurrently, Takaichi has strengthened Japan’s alliance with the United States, culminating in a rare earths agreement and a joint declaration heralding a new ‘golden age’ in US-Japan relations during President Donald Trump’s October visit. Domestically, she has championed substantial government-led spending initiatives reminiscent of Abe’s economic stimulus policies, while securing a record ¥9 trillion defense budget amid growing regional security concerns.
Despite her personal popularity, Takaichi’s electoral gamble carries significant risks. The LDP has experienced considerable instability, with Takaichi representing Japan’s fourth prime minister in five years. Her immediate predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba, suffered one of the LDP’s worst electoral performances after calling a snap election that cost the party its parliamentary majority.
Adding to the challenge, Japan’s opposition forces have recently consolidated with the formation of the Centrist Reform Alliance, a merger between the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito, the LDP’s former coalition partner. This new political entity poses a substantial threat to the ruling coalition’s majority in the upcoming election.