Japan nat'l election on Feb 8

TOKYO, Jan 19 (Reuters): Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced plans on Monday to hold a national election on Feb. 8, seeking to capitalise on her strong public polling in her first test at the ballot box since taking office in October.
Japan's first female premier inherited a battered government, with her ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) having lost its majority in both houses of parliament after disgruntled voters punished it over rising prices and a funding scandal.
By calling a snap election now, she hopes to capitalise on a surge in public support for a new leader who has promised to spur economic growth, tackle cost-of-living concerns and tighten immigration rules.
Some media polls have put the LDP's support at more than 60%, giving Takaichi an opportunity to restore its majority in the more powerful lower chamber.
A poll of 1,213 people published by public broadcaster NHK on January 13 showed she had the backing of 62% of voters.
Even if she gets a lower-house majority, however, Takaichi will still have to govern with a minority in the upper house, which she cannot dissolve. Voters elect half its members every three years and the next election is not due until 2028.
A decisive victory would strengthen Takaichi's hand within the LDP and reduce her reliance on smaller political parties to pass key legislation.
That, in turn, could allow her to push ahead with plans to boost government spending to revive economic growth and sharply increase defence outlays under a revised national security strategy amid heightened tension with powerful neighbour China.
The shift could mark a further step from Japan's post-war pacifist constraints, including a long-standing principle that bars nuclear weapons from its territory.
With prices still rising and the yen's value against the U.S. dollar sliding, the cost of living is likely to dominate the election campaign.
In the NHK poll, 45% of respondents said that was their main concern, followed by diplomacy and national security at 16%.
Having already proposed record spending of $770 billion for the next fiscal year, Takaichi also promised a temporary sales tax cut on food on Monday, further unnerving investors in one of the world's most indebted industrial economies.