Overview
- LDP secretary-general Shunichi Suzuki says Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will outline her election plans at a Jan. 19 news conference.
- Ruling-party and media reports point to dissolution on Jan. 23, campaigning from Jan. 27, and a Feb. 8 vote after a postwar-shortest 16-day run-up.
- The government is weighing a temporary budget as the snap poll could delay final approval of the record ¥122.3 trillion fiscal 2026 budget past March 31.
- The LDP governs with the Japan Innovation Party with only a slim lower-house majority and no upper-house majority, while the CDPJ and Komeito are exploring closer coordination.
- Earlier reports of a snap poll prompted yen weakness and a sell-off in Japanese government bonds on concerns over funding expanded fiscal and defense plans.