S/ Takaichi Sanae, Prime Minister / Today, as prime minister, I have decided to dissolve the House of Representatives on January 23. Why now? Because I thought now is the time for the people who hold sovereignty to decide whether Takaichi Sanae is suitable as prime minister. If the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party are granted a majority of seats, it will be Prime Minister Takaichi. If not, it will be Prime Minister Noda, Prime Minister Saito or someone else.

Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae announced that she will dissolve the lower house on January 23 and hold a general election on February 8.

She said that as a supplementary budget that includes short-term measures against rising prices has been approved, she wants to gear up a notch in terms of policy implementation.

Takaichi said she is also seeking the public’s judgment on the new coalition framework with the Japan Innovation Party and on Japan’s new economic policies.

The Japanese leader said the ruling parties aim to win a majority of seats in the lower house, noting that she is putting her premiership on the line.

As for a policy in the coalition agreement to reduce the consumption tax rate on food and beverages to zero for two years, she said she will accelerate discussions on the matter.

S/ Takaichi Sanae, Prime Minister / Exempting food and beverages, currently subject to a reduced tax rate, from consumption tax for a limited period of two years has long been my personal wish as well. At a national council that will be established, we will accelerate deliberations for its realization, including securing funding and creating an implementation schedule.

Concerning the newly formed Centrist Reform Alliance, she voiced criticism, saying she cannot help but feel doubtful that the Komeito party, a former LDP ally, would support members of the Constitutional Democratic Party, which it battled against in the House of Councillors election just six months ago.

The new party was launched last week between the largest opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, headed by Noda Yoshihiko, and the Komeito party, which severed its longstanding coalition partnership with the LDP after Takaichi became the ruling party’s president in October last year.

With official campaigning for the election scheduled to begin on January 27, ruling and opposition parties are stepping up their preparations.

On the morning of January 20, Takaichi met with LDP Secretary-General Suzuki Shunichi and other party executives to discuss the election outlook.

She told the meeting that she expects a short and intense campaign and wants the party to unite and fight through it to achieve victory, promising to lead the battle from the front.

The LDP plans to allow former and current lawmakers implicated in the slush fund scandal, including omissions in their political fund reports, to run concurrently in single-seat constituencies and the proportional representation section.

As opposition parties intensified their criticism of this plan, the government decided to refrain from holding political fundraising parties hosted by Cabinet ministers, vice ministers and parliamentary secretaries.

The move is aimed at demonstrating a commitment to reform on the issue of politics and money.

The opposition is also criticizing the election itself as well, saying it will cause delays in economic policies such as measures to address rising prices.

S/ Tamaki Yuichiro, Democratic Party for the People / The dissolution and general election could have a negative impact on the economy. We cannot help but feel concerned.

Multiple senior opposition lawmakers are also criticizing Takaichi for suddenly shifting from her previous cautious stance to accelerating consideration of eliminating consumption tax for food and beverages for two years.

One said she is using the consumption tax issue just for the election, while another pointed out that not specifying a timeline for the start of the two-year period suggests that Takaichi intends to postpone the discussions and end up not doing it at all.