January 14, 2026

Akahata editorial (excerpts)

Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae has decided to dissolve the House of Representatives at the outset of the ordinary session of the Diet scheduled to convene on January 23. It is highly likely that a general election will be held in February.

Since 1992, when it became standard practice to convene the ordinary Diet session in January, there has never been a case of dissolving the Lower House at the start of the session. This is because the Diet priorities discussions on budget proposals as the budget affects people’s livelihoods. PM Takaichi herself has claimed that her top priority is to implement measures to tackle the cost of living crisis and that she has no time to even consider dissolving the Lower House for a snap election.

However, she has all of a sudden rushed toward calling a snap election. What is the cause of this sudden change?

One of the major reasons PM Takaichi made this sudden move is that she seeks to mask the LDP’s relations with the Unification Church (Family Federation for World Peace and Unification) for the sake of her mentor, former PM Abe Shinzo who was known for his close ties with the Moonies. At the end of 2025, an internal document of the Unification Church came to light. According to the document, the organization in the 2021 general election provided support to as many as 290 LDP candidates. The document mentions Takaichi’s name 32 times, indicating that the organization was placing its hopes on her success in the LDP presidential election. If a snap election is not called, the ordinary Diet session will play a role in uncovering the facts about the Moonies’ activities to exercise its influence on the LDP, including Takaichi’s involvement in these activities as Abe’s successor.

The “money-politics” scandal is another reason. PM Takaichi presumably intends to avoid being grilled in the ordinary Diet session about the issue in which the Takaichi-headed LDP branch received corporate donations exceeding the upper limit under the Political Fund Control Act. The LDP shows no signs of remorse over its slush-fund scandal. As proposed by the Japanese Communist Party, it is necessary to put a total ban on corporate and organizational political donations.

It is unacceptable for PM Takaichi to call a snap election without fulfilling her responsibility for explaining these issues in the Diet.

The JCP in the coming general election will call on voters to put an end to the Takaichi government’s anti-people policies as well as to the “two distortions” in LDP politics: its prioritization of big businesses’ interests and its subservience to the United States. It also calls for voters’ support by presenting a vision for a new direction in politics.