Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is calling a snap election for February 8, seeking a direct mandate just three months into her tenure. Her Liberal Democratic Party lacks a parliamentary majority, even as she pledges to fight rising prices and deepen security ties with the US and South Korea while taking a tougher line on China. Voters are divided, and a newly united opposition hopes to challenge her nationalist pitch as all 465 lower‑house seats go to the polls.