Japan Parties Speed Up Preparations for Possible General Election

Senior officials of Takaichi's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, including Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki and Election Strategy Committee Chairman Keiji Furuya, met at the party's headquarters on Tuesday (January 13) to discuss steps to take if the prime minister dissolves the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of the Diet, for a snap election.

"We'll swiftly fill party candidate vacancies in constituencies," said one of the meeting's participants.

On the same day, the LDP instructed its prefectural chapters to report their planned candidates for the Lower House by Monday.

Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura, leader of the Japan Innovation Party, the LDP's coalition partner, told reporters that he believes Takaichi has decided to dissolve the Lower House.

Yoshimura said that the JIP will aim to maintain the ruling bloc's majority in the Lower House, but that there was no need to coordinate constituency candidates with the LDP.

Yoshihiko Noda, head of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, is exploring the possibility of electoral cooperation with Komeito, which left the LDP-led ruling bloc after Takaichi became LDP president.

CDP Secretary-General Jun Azumi has instructed the party's prefectural chapters to request support from Komeito and its support base, the lay Buddhist group Soka Gakkai.

Yuichiro Tamaki, chief of the Democratic Party for the People, said his party will accelerate work to select candidates. Meanwhile, he expressed reluctance to cooperate with the CDP, saying, "Coordination without a proper reason would lead to fewer seats."

Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito told reporters that the party will thoroughly prepare and seek results. He added that the party will conclude whether to field candidates for constituency seats as early as this week.

Also on Tuesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara informed the steering committees of both Diet chambers that this year's ordinary Diet session will be convened on January 23.

In light of the possibility of a Lower House dissolution, the ruling bloc did not propose schedules for policy speeches by the prime minister and others.

The ordinary session will run for 150 days through June 21. If the Lower House is dissolved, a special Diet session would be convened within 30 days of the subsequent election.

Japanese stock market continues to make history on Wednesday (January 14), with the Nikkei 225 index surging past 54,000 points for the first time, driven by domestic political expectations. Meanwhile, other Asian stock markets saw declines in line with the trend on Wall Street.

The main factor propelling the Tokyo stock market on Wednesday is investor speculation that Prime Minister Sanae Takahichi may announce the dissolution of the House of Representatives for a snap election in February. If this happens, it would mark her first major popularity test in front of voters nationwide.

The Nikkei 225 surged as much as 1%, reaching new heights above 54,000 points, following a record high set on Tuesday. The Topix index also rose 0.6%, reaching another record high.

At the same time, the yen weakened, falling below the 159 yen per dollar mark, the weakest level since July 2024, benefiting export stocks.

While Japan's market is thriving, other regional stock markets showed cautious movements, reflecting the negative sentiment from US markets, which closed lower last night. Investors are becoming increasingly concerned about the policy proposals and volatility from President Donald Trump.

The Hang Seng Index (HSI) in Hong Kong is expected to open positively, with futures at 26,920 points, higher than the previous close. The Kosdaq index in South Korea also rose slightly above the neutral line.

Meanwhile, the US stock market faced selling pressure, with the Dow Jones falling 0.8%, the S&P 500 dropping 0.19%, and the Nasdaq declining by 0.1%.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]