With the ongoing session of parliament set to end Dec. 17 and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration riding high in opinion polls, there’s a growing question in the political heart of Nagatacho about whether she will bank on her popularity and call a snap election early next year.
The potential rewards of Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party winning big and strengthening her position ahead of next year’s parliamentary session are great. But the risks for the prime minister and her party may be greater.
Takaichi is facing a tough situation. While three independent Lower House members last week agreed to work with the LDP and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), allowing them to regain a majority in that chamber of parliament, the ruling bloc still lacks a majority in the Upper House, which means it needs opposition support to pass nonbudget legislation.
