Japanese Prime Minister: According to a person acquainted with the situation, local media reported on Tuesday that Apean Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to dissolve the House of Representatives for a snap election at the beginning of the normal Diet session on January 23.

As the ruling coalition has a razor-thin majority in the lower house, the move sent to senior members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) comes at a time when Takaichi’s cabinet has a high approval rating, raising hopes that an early election could improve her precarious political standing, according to Japan’s Kyodo News.

At a meeting of top members of the House of Councillors and lower house steering committees on Tuesday, the Japanese government notified the governing and opposition parties that the regular Diet session would take place on January 23.

The formal campaign for the general election may start on January 27 or February 3 if the lower house is dissolved on January 23. Voting may take place on February 9 or February 15, respectively. A source told Kyodo News that Takaichi is anticipated to make her choice public shortly.

Under Takaichi’s leadership, this would be the first general election. After the Komeito party terminated its coalition with the LDP because of the latter’s handling of a funding controversy, she formed an alliance with the Japan Innovation Party and became Japan’s first female prime minister in October of last year.

Even though the existing lower house members’ four-year terms are coming to an end in more than two years, Takaichi seems to have decided to take a chance in order to win support for her aggressive security policies and her pledge to create a “robust” economy via expansionary spending.

Takaichi, a former TV host, joined Japanese politics in 1993 and was elected as an independent to the Lower House. The 64-year-old legislator now serves as the representative for Nara, her native prefecture.

In 1996, Takaichi became a member of Japan’s LDP and initially joined Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet. She served as the Minister of State for Northern Territories and Okinawa. She then became the first female head of the Policy Research Council of the LDP.

Takaichi served as Japan’s Minister of Economic Security from 2022 until 2024. In addition, she is the longest-serving Minister for Internal Affairs, having held the position for many terms.

After obtaining 185 votes, Takaichi, a well-known representative of the LDP’s conservative side and longtime supporter of its causes, was chosen as the party’s leader. After none of the five contenders for the party leadership seat received a majority of the vote in the first round, she beat Shinjiro Shinjiro, who received 156 votes in a runoff.