Japanese PM plans early election to boost support
Officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told local media that Takaichi plans to reveal the date for the lower house vote at a press conference on Monday. The election will select all 465 members of the House of Representatives, the more powerful chamber of Japan’s legislature.
Since taking office last October, Takaichi and her cabinet have maintained high approval ratings.
Her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) currently holds 199 seats in the lower house, including three from independent allies, giving it the largest share among parties. The LDP’s coalition with the Japan Innovation Party provides just enough seats for a working majority.
A protégé of former conservative leader Shinzo Abe and a self-described admirer of Margaret Thatcher, Takaichi, Japan’s first female prime minister, has earned the nickname “Iron Lady.” In December, her government approved a record defence budget of nine trillion yen, citing growing concerns about China’s military activity in the region, which Tokyo has described as its “greatest strategic challenge.”
Takaichi sparked a diplomatic dispute with China last November after suggesting Japan could use its self-defence forces if China attacked Taiwan, straining bilateral relations to their lowest point in over a decade. At the same time, she has cultivated closer ties with the US, hosting President Donald Trump in October 2025. The two leaders praised each other and signed a rare earths deal, along with a joint statement describing a new “golden age” of US-Japan relations.
Domestically, Takaichi champions aggressive government-led spending to stimulate economic growth, echoing the stimulus policies of the former “Abenomics” era.
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