Japanese scholar criticizes Takaichi's timing of parliament dissolution as politically motivated

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's decision to dissolve the House of Representatives at the start of a regular parliamentary session is aimed at avoiding intense questioning from opposition parties and consolidating her political power, said a Japanese political scholar on Thursday.

Takaichi announced her decision on Monday to dissolve the 465-seat lower house for a snap election, aiming to capitalize on her cabinet's current high approval ratings. On Friday, the lower house was formally dissolved, with a general election set for Feb 8.

Hiroshi Shiratori, a political science professor at Hosei University in Tokyo, pointed out that by dissolving the lower house just as the regular Diet session was about to begin, Takaichi has sidestepped scheduled deliberations and criticism, particularly regarding the upcoming fiscal budget.

"The regular Diet session was about to convene. Had it begun, the administration would have faced various criticisms from opposition parties during processes such as budget deliberations, which could have led to a decline in cabinet approval ratings. So, instead, she just dissolved the House right at the outset," said Shiratori.

Shiratori noted that the dissolution will likely delay the passage of the fiscal 2026 budget, pushing final approval until after April. At a time when Japanese society urgently requires effective economic measures, postponing budget deliberations has already sparked strong public discontent.

"Holding an election at this time will likely delay budget passage until after April. This means issues like coping with rising prices and improving people's livelihoods are being set aside, or even ignored, while the focus shifts to realizing personal political ambition and strengthening Japan's defense capabilities. The public has begun to worry," he said.

Japanese scholar criticizes Takaichi's timing of parliament dissolution as politically motivated

Japanese scholar criticizes Takaichi's timing of parliament dissolution as politically motivated

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday presided over a State Council executive meeting that studied work on building a unified national market and reviewed and approved a plan for the development of a modern emergency response system during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).

Noting that building a unified national market is essential to advancing high-quality development, the meeting called for deepening institutional frameworks in areas such as property rights protection, market access, fair competition, social credit and market exit mechanisms.

The meeting also urged efforts to advance high-standard connectivity of market infrastructure to facilitate smooth economic circulation and effectively reduce logistics costs across society.

Emergency management is critical to protecting people's lives and property, the meeting said. It called for accelerating the development of a modern emergency response system, deepening reform and innovation in emergency management, and improving coordinated response mechanisms.

Efforts should be made to strengthen risk prevention at the source, enhance monitoring, forecasting and early warning, and accelerate a shift in governance toward proactive prevention, according to the meeting.

A draft revision of the Law on the People's Bank of China was also discussed and approved in principle at the meeting, which decided to submit the draft to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for deliberation.

Chinese premier chairs State Council executive meeting