Overview
- She will dissolve the lower house on January 23, triggering a 16-day campaign that NHK says is the shortest since World War II.
- The election will decide all 465 lower-house seats as the LDP tries to turn roughly 60–62% approval ratings into a firmer majority.
- Takaichi is staking her political future on a platform of higher public outlays, an accelerated defense build-up and a two-year suspension of the 8% consumption tax on food.
- The government estimates the tax relief would cut revenue by about ¥5 trillion annually, and the 10-year JGB yield rose to a 27-year high after the pledge.
- Opposition parties caution that the compressed timetable could delay passage of the record ¥122 trillion fiscal 2026 budget.