Japan PM Takaichi to call February 8 snap election

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will call a national election on February 8 to win support from voters for a new security strategy that is expected to include increased spending, tax cuts and a boost in defense build-up.

In her first electoral test since becoming Japan’s first female prime minister in October, Takaichi plans to dissolve parliament on Friday ahead of early voting for all 465 seats in the lower house of parliament.

“As prime minister, I am risking my own political future in this election,” Takaichi said at a press conference on Monday.

“I want the people to decide directly whether they will entrust me with the governance of the nation.”

She promised a two-year halt to a consumption tax of eight per cent on food, adding that her spending plans would create jobs, boost household spending and increase other tax revenues.

The prospect of such a tax cut, which the government estimates would reduce its revenue by five trillion yen ($48 billion) a year, caused the yield on Japan’s 10-year government bonds to soar to a 27-year high early Monday.

Calling an early election allows Takaichi to leverage strong popular support to tighten his grip on the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and bolster his coalition’s fragile majority.

The election will test voters’ appetite for higher spending at a time when the rising cost of living is the public’s biggest concern.

The survey, released last week by public broadcaster NHK, focused on prices for 45 percent of respondents, followed by diplomacy and national security at 16 percent.

The Takaichi administration is planning a new national security strategy in 2026 after deciding to accelerate military build-up that will increase defense spending to two percent of GDP; This is a sharp break from decades when Japan capped such spending at around one percent.

Takaichi did not set a new spending target beyond that level, but rising tensions with China over Taiwan and disputed islands in the East China Sea, combined with pressure on U.S. allies to spend more, will likely push defense spending higher.

“China has conducted military exercises around Taiwan and economic pressure is increasingly being used through control of essential supply chain supplies,” he said. “The international security environment is becoming increasingly violent.”

Last week, China banned the export of products for civilian and military use to Japan’s military, including some critical minerals.

The LDP and Ishin are participating in the February 8 elections, which coincide with national elections scheduled to be held in Thailand, with a total of 233 seats.

Takaichi said his goal was to maintain the coalition’s majority in the lower house.

His main rival will be the Centrist Reform Alliance, a new political party that united the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito, the largest opposition group, and ended its 26-year coalition with the LDP after Takaichi, a right-wing lawmaker, took over in the LDP.

The parties have a total of 172 seats.

The new political group may propose permanently eliminating the 8 percent sales tax on food, a party official said earlier in the day.

“This may be his best chance now to take advantage of this extraordinary popularity,” said Jeffrey Hall, a lecturer in Japanese studies at Kanda University of International Studies.

But he added that victory may not be easy as opposition parties join forces to oppose him.