JAPAN'S RULING PARTY, OPPOSITION STEP PREPARATIONS FOR SNAP ELECTION - TOKYO JAPAN

JAPAN'S RULING PARTY, OPPOSITION STEP PREPARATIONS FOR SNAP ELECTION - TOKYO JAPAN  

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has instructed some ruling party executives to speed up the selection of candidates for a lower house election, a source close to the matter said Monday, amid talk she will move to dissolve the house soon.

Some opposition parties -- the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Komeito party -- have already begun talks about working together should Takaichi dissolve the House of Representatives at the beginning of the regular Diet session on Jan. 23 for an election in February.

Takaichi, who heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, has not publicly revealed what is on her mind. But behind closed doors, she has already told an LDP official that she is considering such a move, a source familiar with the matter said over the weekend.

"I made a fresh determination as a leader who must fulfill the heavy responsibility of leading Japan," Takaichi said on Monday in a post on X, noting that she visited a memorial in her home turf Nara Prefecture for the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Abe died after being shot during an election campaign in 2022. He and Takaichi were close, sharing the same hawkish views on defense.

The current four-year terms of the lower house members will not end until 2028. But Takaichi is seen as leaning toward calling an election sooner rather than later in the hope her strong public support will allow her party to secure more seats in the chamber, where it barely holds a majority with its coalition partner.

As speculation grows about a snap election, opposition parties have begun to consider how best to outcompete the ruling bloc of the LDP and the Japan Innovation Party.

The CDPJ has turned to Komeito, which decided to leave its longstanding coalition with the LDP, seeking to appeal to voters as parties of the middle, in contrast to the ruling camp that is seen as tilting toward the right.

"We have reached a basic agreement to boost cooperation," CDPJ leader Yoshihiko Noda told reporters after meeting with his Komeito counterpart Tetsuo Saito.

Some lawmakers, however, have expressed caution about an early election.

"We face a host of challenges in internal affairs and diplomacy. It's not the time for political maneuvering," a senior administration official said.

Before the 150-day regular session begins, Takaichi will host South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday and Wednesday and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni from Thursday to Saturday.

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@Jr_Paku Midin Channel