Overview
- The government approved dissolution at a morning cabinet meeting and formally disbanded the chamber in the afternoon, setting Jan. 27 for the start of campaigning and Feb. 8 for balloting.
- Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is arranging a joint kickoff speech in Tokyo with Japan Innovation Party leader Hirofumi Yoshimura to spotlight the coalition’s platform.
- The Constitutional Democratic Party and Komeito have formed a new party, Centrist Reform Alliance, promoting a “life-first” agenda that includes permanently zero consumption tax on food.
- Kyodo’s tally shows about 1,168 people preparing to run nationwide as parties finalize slates, and the Happiness Realization Party says it will field no candidates.
- Legal cases tied to political ethics continue to shape the backdrop, including former KADOKAWA chair Tsuguhiko Kadokawa’s appeal of his Olympic bribery conviction.