Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi Eyes Feb. 8 for General Election Vote; Temporary Budget May Be Needed as Fiscal Year Begins

The Yomiuri Shimbun

18:28 JST, January 14, 2026

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is considering Feb. 8 as the voting date for the next general election if she takes the step of dissolving the House of Representatives at the beginning of the upcoming ordinary Diet session, The Yomiuri Shimbun learned Tuesday.

The prime minister, members of her administration and the Liberal Democratic Party seem to be coordinating the schedule of the expected general election so that the official election campaigning will begin on Jan. 27 and the voting date will be Feb. 8.

On Tuesday, the government decided to convene the ordinary Diet session on Jan. 23 at a round-robin Cabinet meeting, in which Cabinet decisions are made by circulating a document to each minister for signature.

If the lower house dissolution takes place on Jan. 23 and the election voting is set for Feb. 8, the period between them will be 16 days, the shortest since the end of World War II.

It seems that Takaichi wants to shorten the period between the dissolution and the voting date to minimize negative impacts on Diet deliberations after the election for the compilation of the fiscal 2026 government budget.

Prior to the round-robin Cabinet meeting, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told directors of the rules and administration committees of both the lower house and the House of Councillors that the ordinary Diet session will convene Jan. 23.

When opposition party members asked him about the expected dissolution of the lower house at the rules and administration committee of the lower house, he replied, “Because dissolution of the lower house is the prime minister’s exclusive decision, I refrain from answering the question in the capacity of my position.”

It has been the usual practice that when the government tells the date of convening a Diet session at a meeting of directors of the lower house rules and administration committee, the ruling party side also proposes the dates of four key government speeches, including the prime minister’s policy speech.

But such a proposal was not made at Tuesday’s meeting.

Takaichi has vowed to pass a bill for the fiscal 2026 government budget as soon as possible, mainly for the sake of measures to cope with rising prices.

If the general election is held, it is likely that passage of the budget bill will be after the March 31, end of this fiscal year. But the prime minister seems to be planning to handle the matter by compiling a temporary budget.

Takaichi also continues considering when she will announce her intention to dissolve the lower house.

Many in the government and ruling parties assume that Takaichi will refrain from announcing it until after the visit of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is scheduled to stay in Japan until Jan. 17, and a 31st anniversary memorial event for victims of the Great Hanshin Earthquake on the day.

Many politicians have shown remarks and moves apparently premised on the assumption that Takaichi will dissolve the lower house at the beginning of the upcoming Diet session.

Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura, who is also coleader of the Japan Innovation Party, the LDP’s coalition partner, on Tuesday told reporters at the Osaka prefectural government building, “I think [the prime minister] has decided to call a general election.”

About the party’s goal in the general election, he said the party will present the target of gaining a majority for the ruling bloc.

Yoshimura reiterated his denial that the JIP will adjust its slate of candidates to avoid clashing with the LDP in constituencies, saying, “I don’t think it is necessary.”

From now, it is likely that prefectural election administration commissions across the nation and other authorities will accelerate preparations for the general election assuming that the voting date is Feb. 8.

But it is possible that the voting date may be delayed depending on how the preparations progress.