Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi intends to dissolve the lower house of the parliament to make way for snap elections, a coalition partner has said.
Japanese Prime Minister Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi intends to dissolve the lower house of the parliament to hold snap elections, a coalition partner has said.
Takaichi has notified that she will dissolve the lower House “at an early stage of the ordinary parliamentary session”, Hirofumi Yoshimura, co-head of the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), told reporters on Wednesday.
The annual parliamentary session will start next week. There have been unconfirmed reports that elections could take place as early as February.
Last year, Takaichi became the first woman to become the Prime Minister of Japan. She was elected by her party, LDP, as the party leader after Shigeru Ishiba announced his resignation. But she has not had any honeymoon period as she inherited an economy plagued by deflation and in the grips of rising prices.
Since assuming the office, Takaichi has been under pressure from all sides: the public that’s frustrated about the economy, the emerging far-right parties that seek to capitalise on the popular disgruntlement, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump who have pressured her on the issue of Taiwan.
This is a developing story.
End of Article
