Overview
- LDP secretary-general Shunichi Suzuki said Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told senior officials she will dissolve the chamber soon after the Diet opens on Jan. 23 and will outline plans at a Jan. 19 news conference.
- Domestic media and party sources report a likely Feb. 8 vote following an exceptionally short campaign period of about 16 days, the briefest since World War II if confirmed.
- Takaichi seeks a voter mandate for expansionary fiscal policy and tougher security measures while her LDP–Japan Innovation Party bloc holds only a slim lower-house majority and lacks control of the upper house.
- The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito announced plans to form a new centrist party to coordinate candidates and challenge the ruling camp.
- Opposition leaders warn a snap poll could delay Diet deliberations on the ¥122.3 trillion fiscal 2026 budget approved by the Cabinet in December, which must clear Parliament before April.