Overview
- Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has decided to dissolve the House at the Jan. 23 Diet opening, with a very short campaign window expected.
- Rikken and Komeito leaders formally agreed to create a new party and coordinate for the coming vote, repositioning Komeito away from its long partnership with the LDP.
- Jiji Press modeling based on 2024 results suggests that a 10,000-vote Komeito transfer per district could flip 35 seats and give Rikken more single-seat victories than the LDP.
- LDP tax policy chief Goten Onodera warned the new alignment could affect tight races where the LDP previously relied on Komeito support.
- Local Komeito officials voiced confusion over rapid coordination plans, and election administrators reported a scramble for a potential Jan. 27 public notice and early-February balloting, as Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura resigned to seek a same-day recontest tied to his metropolis plan.