Japan PM Takaichi dissolves parliament, paving way for snap election 

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has dissolved parliament in advance of a snap election scheduled for February 8.

The speaker of Japan’s parliament on Friday read out a letter, officially dissolving the lower house as lawmakers shouted the traditional rallying cry of “banzai”.

Dissolution of the 465-member lower house now paves the way for a 12-day election campaign that officially starts on Tuesday.

Takaichi, the country’s first woman premier, had announced her intentions on Monday to call an election.

Elected in October as Japan’s first female leader, Takaichi has been in office for only three months, but she has seen strong approval ratings of about 70 percent.

She is hoping to capitalise on her personal popularity to help the governing party regain ground after major losses of public support in recent years.

The ruling coalition of Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Japan Innovation Party (JIP) has only a slim majority in the powerful lower chamber.

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