January 20, 2026

Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae, at a press conference in the Prime Minister’s Office on January 19, announced that she will dissolve the House of Representatives at the beginning of the ordinary session of the Diet on January 23 for a snap election. The official campaigning will start on January 27, with voting and ballot counting taking place on February 8.

The 16-day interval between the Lower House dissolution and election day, the shortest in postwar history, will force the electorate to make a decision with very little information, which is a serious problem that undermines the people’s constitutional right to vote.

Later on the day at a press conference in the Diet building, Japanese Communist Party Executive Committee Chair Tamura Tomoko criticized Takaichi’s announcement calling for a snap election in February as being completely devoid of just cause in disregard for the sovereignty of the people.

Noting that PM Takaichi explained that she decided to hold a snap election to seek voter endorsement for her policies, Tamura said that in that case, Takaichi should have held thorough Diet debates on her policies and called an election to test her public mandate.

Tamura pointed out that PM Takaichi intends to prolong her administration’s life with an early snap election because she may be driven into a corner if discussions are held in the ordinary Diet session on her economic and foreign policies as well as on the issues of “money corruption of politics” and the LDP’s controversial ties with the Unification Church.

Tamura stated that if the LDP wins a majority in the coming general election, PM Takaichi will push forward with the policy of turning Japan into a war-capable nation as well as other dangerous policies. The JCP EC chair expressed her determination to work hard to attract voters’ support for the JCP confronting the Takaichi government and to achieve a major JCP advance.