Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to dissolve parliament next week and call a snap general election, the secretary general of her ruling party said on Wednesday.
Takaichi is considering an election date of February 8, a source with knowledge of the matter said, in line with earlier reports by domestic media.
“We need to seek a fresh mandate,” Shunichi Suzuki, secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, told reporters after meeting Takaichi on Wednesday.
Japan’s first female prime minister, Takaichi is seeking to capitalise on a surge in public support for her government since she came to office in October.
Suzuki said the ballot would allow voters to cast their verdict on the LDP’s new coalition with the right-wing Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin, after Takaichi cut ties last year with a longstanding liberal partner, Komeito.
