The country’s first woman to govern, Sanae Takaichi, hopes for favorable results in elections scheduled for February 8 to strengthen her parliamentary majority
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi dissolved Parliament this Friday (23), paving the way for early parliamentary elections, called for February 8, due to the high popularity ratings of her cabinet.
The first woman to govern the Asian archipelago had announced her intentions on Monday (19), seeking public support for her measures aimed at protecting families from the rising cost of living and increasing defense spending.
The president of the Lower House read a letter this Friday officially announcing the dissolution, while parliamentarians chanted the traditional “banzai” war cry.
Takaichi hopes for favorable results in the elections to strengthen his parliamentary majority.
The governing coalition, formed by the prime minister’s Liberal Democratic Party (PLD) and the Japan Innovation Party (PIJ), holds a slim majority in the powerful Lower House.
Takaichi hopes that broad support for her entire cabinet will help her secure a stronger mandate, even as the PLD itself faces low approval ratings and a series of scandals.
“It is unclear whether the high public support for Takaichi’s cabinet will actually translate into support for the LDP,” Hidehiro Yamamoto, a political science professor at the University of Tsukuba, told AFP. “What concerns the population are the measures to combat inflation,” he stated.
Dissatisfied with the prices
On Friday, much-awaited official data showed that the country’s inflation slowed in December, largely thanks to government subsidies for electricity and gas.
The 2.4% year-on-year increase in consumer prices, excluding volatile fresh foods, represents a significant slowdown compared to November’s 3%. However, it remains above the central bank’s 2% target.
Public discontent with rising prices contributed significantly to the downfall of former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who was succeeded by Takaichi in October.
Shigeru Ishiba resigned as Prime Minister of Japan in September last year
Although the has long suffered from deflation, it has recently faced an increase in the cost of living and a chronic weakness in the yen, which has made imports more expensive.
Rice, an essential product for Japanese families, has become a symbol: its price more than doubled in mid-2025 compared with the previous year, before moderating in recent months. The price of grains rose more than 34% in December compared to last year, according to official data released this Friday.
Committed to solving the problem and strengthening the world’s fourth largest economy, Takaichi’s cabinet approved a record budget of 122.3 trillion yen (about US$770 billion or R$4 trillion) for the fiscal year starting in April 2026. However, his rivals claim that the dissolution of the Lower House could delay its approval in Parliament.
*With information from AFP
Published by Nícolas Robert and Victor Trovão
