Make the Japanese archipelago strong and prosperous.

This necessitates a decisive break from past thinking.
No nation unwilling to defend itself will be defended by others.
“Difficulties are assumed. The future is not given by others—it is forged by our own hands.”

【Opening Statement by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi】

Ladies and gentlemen of the Japanese people,
Today, as Prime Minister of Japan, I have decided to dissolve the House of Representatives on January 23.
Why now?
Because there is only one way forward: to ask you, the sovereign people, to decide whether Sanae Takaichi should continue to serve as Prime Minister of Japan. That is what I have concluded.
“Make the Japanese archipelago strong and prosperous.”
If we do not begin now, it will be too late.
For that purpose, what the Takaichi Cabinet has begun to undertake is a major transformation of policies fundamental to the nation, starting with entirely new economic and fiscal policies.
The major policy shifts that I set forth during the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, and those written into the coalition agreement with the Japan Innovation Party, will be fully realized through deliberations on the FY2026 budget and government-submitted legislation in this year’s Diet.
Many of these policies were not included in the Liberal Democratic Party’s campaign pledges in the previous general election.
Moreover, at the time of the last general election, the possibility that I, Sanae Takaichi, would assume responsibility for governing Japan was not even anticipated.
Dissolution is an extremely weighty decision.
It is a decision made so as not to evade responsibility, not to postpone difficult choices, and to determine Japan’s course together with the people.
I myself am placing my position as Prime Minister on the line.
I ask the people directly to judge whether they will entrust the management of the nation to Sanae Takaichi.
Japan is a parliamentary democracy, and therefore the people cannot directly elect the Prime Minister.
However, general elections for the House of Representatives are known as elections to choose the government.
If the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party together receive a majority of seats, the result will be a Takaichi administration.
If not, then it may be a Noda administration, a Saito administration, or someone else.
Indirectly, but clearly, the people will be choosing the Prime Minister.
At present, the president of the Liberal Democratic Party serves as Prime Minister despite the party holding no majority in either the House of Representatives or the House of Councillors.
In the previous general election, we sought the people’s judgment on the premise of an LDP–Komeito coalition.
That coalition framework has now changed.
That is precisely why I chose a path that directly asks for the will of the people, rather than acting for the convenience of politics.
On my third attempt, I assumed office as president of the Liberal Democratic Party on October 4 of last year.
Immediately thereafter came the sudden parting from Komeito, our coalition partner of 26 years.
Although I became LDP president, we lacked a majority in both houses of the Diet, and I faced the prime ministerial designation election under extremely difficult circumstances.
The road to becoming Prime Minister was a steep one.
With the support of our new coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, as well as assistance from other parliamentary groups in both houses, I won the designation election by the narrowest of margins and assumed office as Prime Minister on October 21 last year.
Since that day, I have been acutely aware that the Takaichi Cabinet had not yet been tested in a government-selection election.
However, the issue of rising prices confronting the people was an urgent matter that could not wait.
The Takaichi Cabinet needed to act swiftly.
Through the FY2025 supplementary budget compiled by the Takaichi Cabinet, measures such as reductions in gasoline and diesel prices, support for electricity and gas bills, priority local government grants, and child-rearing assistance to counter rising prices are expected to provide standard households with more than 80,000 yen in annual support.
Gasoline and diesel prices have already fallen through the use of subsidies.
Support for electricity and gas bills has begun this very month.
At the launch of the Takaichi Cabinet, many medical institutions essential to protecting lives were operating at a deficit, and the number of bankruptcies among care providers had reached a record high.
We faced a grave crisis in which elderly people and persons with disabilities could lose access to necessary medical care and places of support.
Therefore, even before scheduled remuneration revisions, we front-loaded the “Medical and Nursing Care Support Package” into the supplementary budget, focusing on deficit-ridden institutions.
We also decided to provide wage increases for care workers, broadly ranging from 10,000 yen to a maximum of 19,000 yen per month.
We requested early execution of the FY2025 supplementary budget from ministries and local governments.
Measures to safeguard daily life, including responses to rising prices, are steadily being implemented.
I state here clearly that this dissolution comes after establishing a robust framework to avoid any vacuum in economic management.
Having implemented immediate countermeasures, we now wish to shift policy implementation into a higher gear.
We aim to confront the abduction issue head-on at the leadership level and achieve concrete results.
We also intend to boldly challenge reforms and policies that may divide public opinion.
Through Diet questioning and two full rounds of budget committee deliberations in both houses by the end of last year, this determination only strengthened.
Over the past three months, I have felt keenly the instability of Japanese politics and the harsh realities of Nagatacho.
“Without trust, nothing stands.”
I believe it is the responsibility of leaders in a democratic nation to present major policy shifts openly to the people and to seek judgment forthrightly.
At the core lies “responsible proactive fiscal policy.”
This represents a major departure from previous economic and fiscal policies.
Excessive austerity and insufficient investment in the future—this Cabinet will put an end to that trajectory.
Strategic fiscal mobilization that minimizes risks and allows cutting-edge technologies to flourish will secure safety and peace of mind, increase employment and income, improve consumer sentiment, raise business profits, and enable natural growth in tax revenues without raising tax rates—thus realizing a strong economy.
The first pillar is “crisis-management investment” to minimize risks.
For example, establishing food security so that Japan will never lack food under any circumstances.
By creating an environment in which all farmland can be fully utilized, applying advanced technologies to agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, and expanding Japanese food products globally, we will strengthen supply capacity while increasing demand both domestically and internationally.
Japan can also earn significantly through overseas expansion of fully enclosed plant factories and land-based aquaculture facilities developed by Japanese startups with world-leading technologies.
Strengthening energy and resource security is also vital.
Ensuring stable and affordable electricity supply is essential to protecting our lives and industries.
We must not waste Japan’s strengths: widespread adoption of perovskite solar cells invented in Japan; early deployment of next-generation innovative reactors such as small modular reactors and fusion energy, where Japanese firms hold technological advantages; energy-efficient data centers using advanced refrigerant and photonic–electronic integration technologies; and commercialization of oxide-based all-solid-state batteries.
Economic security is equally critical.
Relying heavily on a single country for essential minerals or pharmaceutical ingredients entails serious risk.
The Takaichi Cabinet has already begun efforts to enhance Japan’s autonomy through domestic production and diversified procurement.
A world that cannot function without Japanese technology and products ensures Japan’s indispensability—and thereby protects our peace.
We will steadily advance crisis-management investments including national resilience against disasters, medical and health security, and strengthened cybersecurity.
By rapidly implementing solutions to global challenges domestically and expanding them overseas, we will secure both peace of mind and economic growth.
In Europe and the United States, new industrial policies are emerging in which governments step forward and public–private cooperation addresses major social challenges.
Japan, however, has long underinvested in such efforts.
Protecting the lives and livelihoods of the people is the ultimate mission of the state.
To turn anxiety into security and hope, bold crisis-management investment is indispensable.
We have a responsibility to act immediately, breaking free from excessive austerity.
The second pillar is growth investment.
Through initiatives such as the “17 Strategic Fields” identified by the Japan Growth Strategy Headquarters, promotion of businesses leveraging Japan’s technological strengths, reinforcement of human capital and R&D including basic research, and enhanced startup support, we will realize Japan as a nation of new technologies.
We will also strategically form industrial clusters nationwide by soliciting regional ideas and implementing bold investment incentives and integrated infrastructure development.
No matter where one lives in Japan’s 47 prefectures, people should be able to live safely, access necessary medical care, welfare, and advanced education, and find employment.
“Make the Japanese archipelago strong and prosperous.”
This is the Japan envisioned by the Takaichi Cabinet.
To achieve this, a strong economy is essential.
We will fundamentally reform how national budgets are created.
We will break away from budgeting premised on annual supplementary budgets and provide necessary funding in initial budgets.
We will also establish mechanisms to commit to multi-year fiscal mobilization, premised on rigorous outcome management, thereby enhancing predictability and enabling private-sector investment and R&D with confidence.
The FY2026 initial budget marks the first step.
However, since budget requests were completed before my appointment, revising ceilings and budgeting principles will require two years, starting with this summer’s requests.
Nevertheless, we will see this reform through.
Thanks to measures taken by the Takaichi Cabinet, real wages are expected to rise this year, although food price inflation remains elevated.
To realize a strong economy, we must increase take-home pay, ensure real wage growth, and allow improved consumer sentiment to drive a virtuous economic cycle.
To ease the burden on middle- and low-income households suffering from rising prices, food items currently subject to reduced tax rates will be exempt from consumption tax for two years.
This policy was included in the coalition agreement I signed on October 20 last year and represents a long-held personal goal.
We will accelerate deliberations on funding and scheduling through a forthcoming National Council.
Since my appointment, stock prices have risen.
Pensions are also invested in equities.
A strong economy transforms anxiety about the future into reassurance.
Through these bold economic and fiscal policy shifts, we will achieve a virtuous economic cycle.
Criticism has arisen that the FY2026 budget is excessive.
However, by carefully ensuring fiscal sustainability, we achieved a primary balance surplus for the first time in 28 years.
Necessary policies were funded without borrowing, and new bond issuance was limited to 29.6 trillion yen—the second-lowest level since the Lehman Shock.
This is the realization of a strong economy under responsible proactive fiscal policy.
We will continue to restrain debt growth within economic growth rates and reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio, ensuring fiscal sustainability while maintaining market confidence through clear, objective indicators.
Strong diplomacy and security also require public support.
The international environment is growing harsher.
China has conducted military exercises around Taiwan, and economic coercion through control of upstream supply-chain materials is evident.
Ten years after proposing a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, we will further advance it.
Through numerous diplomatic engagements—including ASEAN-related summits, AZEC, meetings with President Trump, APEC, the G20, Central Asia plus Japan, and bilateral meetings with leaders such as President Lee Jae-myung and Prime Minister Meloni—we have strengthened ties.
We will further reinforce alliances centered on the Japan–U.S. alliance and cooperation with Japan–U.S.–ROK, Japan–U.S.–Philippines, Japan–U.S.–Australia, Japan–Italy–UK, and the Global South.
We will fundamentally strengthen security policy, revising the three strategic documents ahead of schedule.
Learning from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, nations are preparing for new forms of warfare and prolonged conflict.
This necessitates a decisive break from past thinking.
We will strengthen deterrence, address new domains such as cyber, space, and electromagnetic spectrum, reinforce defense industrial bases, and improve treatment of Self-Defense Forces personnel.
No nation unwilling to defend itself will be defended by others.
To protect Japan’s peace, independence, and the lives of its people, we will advance realistic and resilient security policies.
Strengthening intelligence functions is also essential.
Without strong information-gathering and analysis capabilities, diplomacy, defense, and economic power cannot be strong.
We will enhance national intelligence capacity through establishment of a National Intelligence Agency, a foreign investment review body, and anti-espionage legislation.
All of this is urgent.
We will also pursue a refundable tax credit system to increase take-home pay for those burdened by regressive social insurance premiums.
Sustainable social security reform requires cross-party collaboration and collective wisdom.
We will also confront long-neglected issues such as revision of the Imperial House Law and the Constitution.
Such reforms require stable political foundations and clear public mandate.
With determination, I chose dissolution to present a clear path and ask for your trust.
The Liberal Democratic Party itself must change.
Despite criticism, we will carry out policies with unwavering commitment for the people.
Last October’s LDP leadership election was fiercely contested, but it represented only the judgment of party members.
Now, we seek the judgment of the people.
After the election, we will move forward united to realize our pledges—returning the LDP to its roots as a people’s party.
I have worked tirelessly—at home and abroad, in session and out of session.
During the election period, the Cabinet will continue governing.
To minimize impact on budget passage, we will dissolve the House on January 23, announce elections on January 27, and hold voting on February 8.
Even if a provisional budget becomes necessary, we will ensure implementation of free high school education and free school lunches from April.
If we receive public trust, policy implementation will accelerate.
I thank Komeito supporters for 26 years of cooperation.
Though paths now diverge, I express my gratitude.
This will be a difficult election.
We must put an end to politics detached from the people.
Let us build a new nation.
I recall the words of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe:
“Difficulties are assumed. The future is not given by others—it is forged by our own hands.”
A nation that does not challenge has no future.
Hope does not come by waiting.
We must decide, act, and create.
Thus, I name this election “the election to create our future.”
Japan can be stronger, richer, and more hopeful.
Let us build that future together.
I will not retreat. I will not waver. I will decide.
I will carry out politics responsible to the future.
Even children born today may see Japan in the 22nd century.
May Japan then be safe and prosperous—a shining lighthouse of the Indo-Pacific.
I believe in the strength of Japan and its people.
I will unleash Japan’s potential and realize diplomacy where Japan blooms at the center of the world.
I ask you to move forward with me—or to stop under instability.
I wish to move forward, together with you.
Let us create that future together.
Once again:
“Make the Japanese archipelago strong and prosperous.”
Together, let us open a new era.
In closing, I express my gratitude for your efforts in this winter election.
Thank you very much.