Japan Heads Into Snap Election

TOKYO, Jan 23 (News On Japan) - The Japanese government decided at a Cabinet meeting on January 23rd to dissolve the House of Representatives, with the Lower House set to be formally dissolved at a plenary session later in the day, effectively launching the election campaign.

The dissolution at the very start of the ordinary session, is the first in 60 years, marking the beginning of an unusual, midwinter short campaign in which many political insiders say the outcome remains impossible to predict until the very end.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who responded with a smile when reporters called out to her as she arrived at the Prime Minister’s Office, later moved to dissolve the Lower House at the Cabinet meeting.

At the House of Representatives plenary session scheduled from 1 p.m., the speaker is expected to read out the imperial rescript, formally dissolving the chamber.

After that, the government plans to hold an extraordinary Cabinet meeting to set the election schedule, with campaigning to officially begin on January 27th and voting and ballot counting to take place on February 8th.

Kenta Noda, co-leader of the centrist Noda Joint Party, said, "This is a dissolution at the opening, and we have no choice but to take it head-on. In fact, we must hold them strictly accountable, including for the responsibility of creating this kind of political vacuum."

This election will be the first since the Liberal Democratic Party formed a coalition with the Japan Innovation Party, and while both ruling and opposition parties are calling for cuts to the consumption tax, many parties are also including policies on national security and foreign residents in their campaign pledges.

With the Constitutional Democratic Party and Komeito having formed a new party, dramatically reshaping the electoral landscape, the campaign period will last just 16 days, the shortest in Japan’s postwar history, as the country heads into a rapid-fire contest leading up to election day.

Source: FNN

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