Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced she will call a general election for February 8th. She made the statement at a press conference in Tokyo. Her goal is to secure a popular mandate to increase spending, cut taxes, and adopt a new security strategy to accelerate Japan's defense capabilities. "I'm betting my political future as prime minister on these elections. I want the people to judge for themselves whether they trust me to run the country," she said. The early elections will cover all 465 seats in the lower house of parliament and will be Takaichi's first electoral test since taking office last October, making her the first woman to hold the position.
