Overview
- The timetable sets dissolution on January 23, official campaigning from January 27, and a 16-day sprint, the shortest lower-house campaign since World War II.
- The LDP–Japan Innovation bloc holds a razor-thin majority, while the CDP and former LDP partner Komeito have formed the Centrist Reform Alliance to challenge the government.
- Takaichi says the vote is to secure backing for a ¥122.3 trillion fiscal 2026 budget, a revised security strategy with higher defense outlays, and measures to curb living costs.
- Markets reacted to the plan, with the Nikkei reaching record highs and 10-year government bond yields climbing to a 27-year peak on the proposed food-tax holiday.
- The race unfolds under strained ties with China following Takaichi’s Taiwan comments and Beijing’s export controls, injecting geopolitical tension into the campaign.