Right-Wing Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi to Dissolve Parliament, Calls Snap General Election

Tokyo: Japan's right-wing Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has informed that she will dissolve the parliament on Friday, Januray 23 and call a general election to seek voter backing for her spending plans and other policies.

Her new move after three months into her tenure as Japan's first female prime minister has drawn criticism.

In a press conference, she announced, "Today, I, as the prime minister, have decided to dissolve the lower house on January 23." The snap vote, which will reportedly happen on February 28, will elect members to all 465 seats in Japanese parliament's lower house.

Earlier, several Japanese media outlets reported that Takaichi would call a snap election this month. The snap elections will be an electoral test for Takaichi as her performance in these few months will be judged by people.

besides testing the water on her proposed higher spending, based on the strong public support, a win might help her shore up her coalition's majority. A clear mandate for Takaichi and her party will also help her to move forward with her longtime project-- resolve the diplomatic troubles with China over Taiwan.

Following the earlier speculations on snap election, Tokyo shares jumped more than 3 percent.