Japan PM Takaichi intends to call for election next week

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has told a senior ruling party member her intention to dissolve the House of Representatives for a snap election at the outset of the regular Diet session to be convened on January 23, a source familiar with the matter said Tuesday, Report informs referring to Kyodo News.

Takaichi, who took office in October, has so far remained tightlipped despite a wave of media reports that she is considering calling for a general election possibly in February.

The previous lower house election was held in October 2024.

An early poll on the back of the Takaichi Cabinet's high approval rate could help bring stability to the fragile majority held by the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party in the lower house, the more powerful of the two chambers of the Diet.

The ruling coalition remains a minority in the House of Councillors.