China News 1st, January 12th. According to a report by Kyodo News on the 11th, a relevant person revealed on the 10th that Japanese Prime Minister and Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leader Takahashi Hayato has told LDP-related personnel that he is considering dissolving the House of Representatives at the beginning of the regular session scheduled for the 23rd. The Asahi Shimbun reported on the 11th that this move aims to enhance policy implementation by gaining the trust of voters, but it inevitably invites criticism of "creating a political vacuum."

Photo: Takahashi Hayato.

About the schedule for the House of Representatives election, the main proposals include "announcing on January 27th and voting on February 8th" and "announcing on February 3rd and voting on February 15th." However, there are cautious voices within the government, arguing that the priority should be to pass the 2026 fiscal year budget before the end of March.

However, the Japanese media pointed out that, given the current situation, it is difficult to pass the 2026 budget bill by the end of March, and the passage of budget and tax-related bills will also be delayed, leading to concerns about the impact on people's lives.

According to Japan Broadcasting Association (NHK), the leader of Japan's largest opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), and former Prime Minister of Japan, Hashimoto Yoshihiko, said that dissolving the House of Representatives is likely due to some concerns. He speculated that the reason behind this move lacks reasonable and legitimate grounds, and is instead driven by self-preservation motives.

Hashimoto Yoshihiko said, "Although the Prime Minister keeps saying 'work, work, work,' he hasn't done anything to ease rising prices or promote economic development. Creating a political vacuum again will be severely questioned. Is it appropriate to make such a judgment?" Hashimoto emphasized, "We are accelerating our preparations. We need to quickly determine with which parties and in what way we will cooperate."

Additionally, the leader of the Komeito Party, Saito Tetsuo, also pointed out, "The most important thing to prioritize is measures to deal with the surge in prices, not doing something about the political situation."

Given that Japanese Prime Minister Takahashi Hayato has informed LDP-related personnel that he plans to dissolve the House of Representatives at the beginning of the regular session scheduled for the 23rd, all parties in Japan have started to focus on the next House of Representatives election and advance related preparations on the 11th.

The head of the LDP's Policy Research Council, Kobayashi Takeru, stated, "Dissolving the House of Representatives is the exclusive authority of the Prime Minister. We have always been ready to face the election campaign at any time. Members of the House of Representatives are like that."

The leader of the Japan Innovation Party, Yamamori Hirofumi, stated that his party is prepared to fight at any time.

The leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party, Hashimoto Yoshihiko, and the leader of the Komeito Party, Saito Tetsuo, held talks in Tokyo on the 12th. Hashimoto asked Saito about the intention of cooperation for the next House of Representatives election, and both agreed to explore specific ways of cooperation in the future.

After the meeting, Hashimoto told the media, "In various ways, we have maintained communication and exchanges in the past. This time, we reached a basic consensus to carry out higher-level cooperation." Regarding Takahashi's consideration of dissolving the House of Representatives, Hashimoto said, "The CDP and Komeito confirmed they will face the challenge together." Saito also emphasized, "The CDP expressed the desire to fight together, and we will actively explore and seek higher-level cooperation."

Hashimoto also said, "From the perspective of correcting excessive right-wing tendencies, the Komeito Party is the most amicable political force. We will try to coordinate as much as possible to create a political force capable of countering the LDP."

Original: toutiao.com/article/7594466525499769396/

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