Overview
- Public notice is scheduled for Jan. 27 with voting on Feb. 8, launching an unusually compressed national contest.
- The ruling camp moves to solidify strategy as Takaichi convenes party leaders, with a stated goal of securing a governing majority alongside the Japan Innovation Party.
- The Constitutional Democratic Party and Komeito formed a new centrist bloc, Chudo Kaikaku Rengō, set to unveil campaign materials on Jan. 20 and reported to attract roughly 170 sitting lawmakers.
- Campaign debate centers on consumption-tax relief focused on necessities and broader cost-of-living measures, with Takaichi emphasizing security and constitutional initiatives and the new centrists stressing a life-first platform.
- Takaichi criticized Chubu Electric over falsified seismic data for the Hamaoka nuclear plant, warning the misconduct could erode public trust in nuclear safety.