The Tamesis
January 21, 2026
Tokyo – Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, stressed at a press conference on Monday that she intends to stake her future on the upcoming House of Representatives elections and announced that the House of Representatives will be dissolved.
By cutting off her own avenues of escape, Takaichi seemed to be signaling that ensuring public authorization for her government to remain in control was the purpose of the disbandment.
“I have decided to dissolve the House of Commons on January 23. Why now? I want the sovereign people to decide whether I should be prime minister. There is no other way. That is my thought process,” she said.
This was the opening statement of the press conference held at 6 pm. Takaichi looked straight ahead and explained the reasons for dissolving the House of Representatives and other points without a smile for more than 10 minutes.
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Gao Yi has repeatedly stated her position, emphasizing that “if I cannot win public authorization, I will take responsibility.” Her election goal is to ensure that the ruling coalition, including the Japan Innovation Party, obtains a majority.
Takaichi’s main concern at the press conference was how to explain her reasons for dissolving the House of Representatives. The election will be a short battle as the time between dissolution and polling day will be the shortest in a House of Representatives election since the end of World War II, allowing her to catch an unprepared opposition party off guard.
However, criticism is growing from opposition parties and others who say failure to pass next fiscal year’s budget before the end of this fiscal year will impact people’s lives.
Even within the Liberal Democratic Party there is dissatisfaction with the inability of local governments to prepare for the election on time and the fact that the election will be held during the harsh winter. As concerns over the issues spread, one mid-level LDP member said, “If this disbandment is seen as purposeless and selfish, our chances of winning will disappear in an instant.”
Therefore, the first grade students spent a considerable amount of time perfecting the speech for the day. In addition to the reasons for disbandment, she personally edited the policy explanation in detail, which included calls for support in advancing the government’s flagship policies and implementing policies contained in the LDP’s coalition agreement with the United Democratic Party.
Takaichi even mentioned names such as Yoshihiko Noda, president of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, and raised the question of which of the two is more suitable to serve as prime minister.
Set the stage
Gao Yi deliberately cited past examples to convey the purpose of disbandment. The curtain behind the podium at the press conference was changed from the usual blue to red – the same color used when former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi dissolved the House of Representatives in 2005 over postal privatization.
Takaichi also quoted former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whom she considered her political mentor. Abe has also actively used dissolution to overcome difficulties, such as when he dissolved the House of Representatives in 2017 while the opposition continued to pursue scandals related to school operators Moritomo Gakuen and Kake Gakuen.
With decisive moves by Koizumi and Abe delivering a landslide victory for the ruling party, a lawmaker close to Takaichi said: “There could be a huge shift in momentum at the press conference announcing the dissolution. It will be another all-or-nothing election.”
The ruling party generally welcomed Gaoshi’s dissolution announcement. Kei Furutani, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party’s election strategy committee, told reporters on Monday: “We need the people’s mandate to speed up policy implementation. It can be said that this is an election to choose Takaichi as prime minister.”
Despite the cabinet’s high approval rating, there have been concerns within the LDP that the LDP’s overall approval rating has failed to rise. However, expectations are growing as Takaichi says she intends to take a stand in this vote: in the words of another mid-level LDP member, “her supporters will now vote overwhelmingly for the LDP”.
JIP joint representative Fumitake Fujita also told reporters: “It is natural for us to fight when our last stand is against the enemy. I want to treat this as [proof of Takaichi’s] Strong determination. “
On the same day, Taka City proposed a measure to temporarily reduce the food consumption tax to zero, a move that the JIP has been demanding. This prompted Fujita to say: “I strongly agree [with this action]. I think she’s ready to fight now. “
