Japan’s new Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, is set to call a snap general election. According to experts and political insiders, Takaichi is seeking to convert her high public approval rating into a parliamentary majority for her ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
According to colleagues and political analysts, she intends to dissolve parliament shortly after it convenes for the first time this year on January 23. Local media coverage in Japan estimates, according to senior Liberal Democratic Party members, that the most likely dates for the snap election would be either February 8 or February 15.
Although Takaichi seeks to capitalise on her personal approval rating, her party’s overall approval ratings are actually quite low, at an estimated average of 35 percent. However, cabinet approval ratings reflect a similar level of support for the current prime minister, which has risen as high as 76 percent.
A trend that has seemingly been spreading across the globe is younger voters’ attraction to populist and alternative politics, whether right-wing or left-wing. This trend can be highlighted by the rise of Trump and the election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York.
Takaichi has followed a playbook of somewhat controversial remarks, such as statements made in the Japanese parliament on Taiwan, which ignited friction between China and Japan. She has refused to backtrack on her statements, which has seemingly boosted her public approval among voters in Japan.
Although party officials and those linked to Takaichi believe that an election victory is inevitable due to her high personal popularity, it is still a risk and cannot be guaranteed, according to political analysts in the country. This is due to a break in the political coalition between the Komeito Party and the Liberal Democratic Party. Without an electoral pact in which candidates do not compete with each other in certain constituencies, this could result in a lower vote count than predicted for the Liberal Democratic Party.
BakuTiflis 