Japan's Lower House Dissolved for Feb. 8 Election

Tokyo, Jan. 23 (Jiji Press)--Japan dissolved its House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, at the start of an ordinary parliamentary session Friday.

At a cabinet meeting later, the government decided to hold the Lower House general election on Feb. 8, with the official campaign period set to kick off on Tuesday. The election will take place 16 days after the Lower House dissolution, the shortest such period since the end of World War II.

This was the first time in 60 years for the Lower House to be dissolved at the start of an ordinary Diet session.

It will be the first national election under the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party, which replaced Komeito as the LDP's ally in October last year. It will also be the first general election since the one held in October 2024 under then Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Takaichi's predecessor.

The focus of the upcoming poll is whether the LDP-JIP camp will maintain its Lower House majority.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]