Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled to hold a press conference on January 19, 2026, at 6:00 p.m., where she is likely to announce her intention to dissolve the House of Representatives. The dissolution is expected at the start of the regular Diet session on January 23, prompting ruling and opposition parties to intensify preparations for a general election.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is set to hold a press conference at 6:00 p.m. on January 19, 2026, where she is expected to declare her intention to dissolve the House of Representatives. This would occur at the outset of the regular Diet session on January 23, paving the way for a snap general election.
Over the first weekend since Takaichi informed senior ruling coalition figures of her plans, the government and party leaders ramped up election preparations. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, speaking at a gathering in his hometown of Kumamoto, stressed the need to 'ask the people for their mandate' to advance the prime minister's agenda, which includes 'responsible and proactive public finances' and an early revision of Japan's three key national security documents. Addressing worries about delays in fiscal 2026 budget deliberations, Kihara noted that the impact on daily lives would be 'extremely limited,' pointing to the passage of the fiscal 2025 supplementary budget.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Shunichi Suzuki told reporters in Morioka that the party aimed to 'accept the prime minister's decision and restore political stability.' Japan Innovation Party co-leader Fumitake Fujita, in Tokyo, said the party would 'boldly put forward the policies stated in the coalition agreement and ask voters to judge their merits.'
Opposition parties are also mobilizing. Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda and Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito, who have formed the new Centrist Reform Alliance, recorded a YouTube program together. Noda later told reporters: 'This election is the first step toward expanding a centrist bloc. I want to fight through it with all my being.' Democratic Party for the People leader Yuichiro Tamaki, speaking in Tosashimizu, Kochi Prefecture, vowed to 'transform politics into something new, putting people’s lives first.'
The move appears aimed at bolstering Takaichi's administration, though concerns linger over potential disruptions to budget processes.
