Japan: Three things Takaichi aims to achieve with snap polls

Japan’s first female Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, is wasting no time.

Only three months into her tenure, she has officially announced a snap election for February 8. It’s a bold “carpe diem” move that puts her political future on a knife-edge. By dissolving the Lower House on the very first day of the new parliamentary session, she is attempting to transform her current momentum into a long-term grip on power.

Here is the breakdown of what she’s trying to pull off.

1# Securing a majority on a popular high

Takaichi’s biggest asset right now is her popularity. While the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has been battered by scandals, Takaichi herself is enjoying a “honeymoon period” with approval ratings hovering between 61% and 70%. She is acutely aware that these numbers are a “use it or lose it” resource.

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Currently, her coalition with the Japan Innovation Party (Ishin) holds a razor-thin majority of 233 seats. By calling for a vote now, she hopes to recapture a comfortable solo LDP majority and crush the opposition—the newly formed “Centrist Reform Alliance”—before they have time to find their footing. At a press conference Monday, she made the stakes clear, stating she would put her “political career as prime minister on the line” for this mandate.

2# A mandate to stand firm against China

Beyond domestic numbers, Takaichi is seeking a public “green light” for her hawkish foreign policy. Tensions with Beijing are at their highest point in years, especially after China implemented strict export controls on critical minerals like rare earths earlier this month.

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Takaichi has refused to back down from her provocative stance on Taiwan, and a decisive win would allow her to:

• Drastically increase defense spending (already at a record $56.92 billion for 2026).

• Accelerate “Economic Security” by moving supply chains away from Chinese dependence.

• Revise national security documents to move Japan further away from its post-war pacifist constraints.

3# Push for ‘Takaichi-nomics’

Finally, the election is a referendum on her radical economic overhaul. She has already proposed a gargantuan ¥122.3 trillion ($770 billion) budget, but she needs the political capital to silence fiscal hawks who worry about Japan’s massive debt.

Her campaign centerpieces are “responsible yet aggressive” reforms, most notably a plan to suspend the 8% sales tax on food for two years. While this has unnerved bond markets—sending 40-year yields to 30-year highs—Takaichi believes that putting cash directly back into the pockets of the middle class is the only way to finally kill off Japan’s “deflationary mindset.”