Press Conference by Prime Minister TAKAICHI Sanae

 
[Opening Statement by Prime Minister Takaichi]
 
My fellow citizens, today, acting in my capacity as prime minister, I have decided to dissolve the House of Representatives on January 23.
 
Why now? It is because I thought that there is only one way forward: to ask you, the Japanese people, with whom sovereign power resides, to decide at this juncture whether Takaichi Sanae should serve as prime minister.
 
To make the Japanese archipelago stronger and more prosperous, we must start now, or else it will be too late. Toward that end, the Takaichi Cabinet has embarked on a complete overhaul of key policies impacting the very backbone of our nation, including completely new economic and fiscal policies.
 
The major policy shifts incorporating what I advocated during the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership election and the policies written into our agreement with the Japan Innovation Party (JIP) for a coalition government will become fully fledged through the budget for fiscal year 2026, which will be deliberated in this year's Diet session, as well as through the form of legislative bills submitted by the government.
 
Many of these are policies not included in the LDP's policy pledges during the last House of Representatives election. Moreover, at the time of the most recent House of Representatives election, no one had foreseen even the possibility that I, Takaichi Sanae, would stand at the helm of Japan's national administration.
 
Dissolving the Lower House is a profoundly weighty decision. But it is a decision made in order not to shy away, not to postpone, and to chart Japan's course forward fully in concert with the Japanese people.
 
By doing so, I am also putting my own position as prime minister on the line. I want the Japanese people to make the decision directly on whether to entrust the management of the nation to Takaichi Sanae.
 
As Japan is a country with a parliamentary system, there is no means by which the citizens can choose their prime minister directly. That said, Lower House elections are called elections to choose the government. If the LDP and JIP together are given the majority of seats, then Takaichi Sanae will serve at the helm. If not, then there will be a Prime Minister Noda, a Prime Minister Saito, or someone else entirely. While this system is indirect, it is also a way for you, the Japanese people, to choose your prime minister.
 
As of now, the president of the LDP is serving as prime minister despite the LDP holding a majority of seats in neither the House of Representatives nor the House of Councillors. Moreover, in the previous election for the House of Representatives, we sought the judgment of the people premised on a coalition government between the LDP and Komeito.
 
The framework of our coalition government has now also changed. It is for these reasons that I have chosen a path of directly asking the will of the people, rather than opting for a politically convenient path.
 
I assumed the post of LDP president on October 4 last year, achieving success on my third attempt. Immediately afterward came the party's sudden separation from Komeito, our coalition partner of 26 years. Even though I had come to be the president of the LDP, I faced the election within the Diet to designate the prime minister with the LDP holding a majority of seats in neither the Lower House nor the Upper House.
 
The road to becoming prime minister was formidable indeed. Upon receiving the support of the JIP, which had just become our new coalition partner, as well as other parliamentary groups in both chambers, I narrowly won the election designating the prime minister despite the feeling that I was treading on thin ice, and I assumed office on October 21 last year.
 
Ever since that day, I have remained continuously mindful of the fact that the Takaichi Cabinet has never been tested in a general election in which the public chooses the party that will govern. However, measures to combat rising prices, an issue acutely affecting the public, were in particular a challenge demanding an immediate response.
 
It was of paramount importance that the Takaichi Cabinet swiftly devise ways to address that situation. Our measures to reduce the price of gasoline and diesel, our assistance for electricity and gas bills, our grants to local regions for prioritized assistance, and our child-rearing support allowances to help counter price increases, all accounted for within the fiscal 2025 supplementary budget formulated by the Takaichi Cabinet, are expected to provide more than 80,000 yen in assistance annually on average per household. We have already achieved price reductions for gasoline and diesel fuel through the use of subsidies, and our assistance for electricity and gas bills also got underway this month.
 
When the Takaichi Cabinet was inaugurated, a sizeable number of the medical institutions protecting our lives were operating in the red, and bankruptcies among nursing care providers were at an all-time high. I have harbored a strong sense of crisis that people might become unable to receive the medical care they need or that the elderly and people with disabilities might lose places that provide them with support.
 
We incorporated into the supplementary budget a support package for medical care, nursing care, and related services, which will be carried out ahead of schedule, without waiting for the timing of regular revisions to reimbursements for medical and nursing care services, and will center on medical institutions and nursing care providers operating in the red. Beyond this, we decided to implement broad-based wage support ranging from 10,000 to a maximum of 19,000 yen per month for nursing care industry workers and hands-on caregiving staff.
 
My administration has requested that all ministries, agencies, and local governments be swift in implementing the supplementary budget for 2025. Essential measures bolstering security in people's daily lives, including measures to address rising prices, are now in the process of being rolled out sequentially as scheduled. Here, I wish to make it clear that this dissolution of the Lower House is being called with a full framework in place that leaves no gaps in our management of economic affairs.
 
Having now succeeded in taking measures that will operate over the near term, at this timing, I intend to shift into a higher gear as we work to realize our policies.
 
I want to work towards a resolution of the abductions issue through direct engagement at the leaders' level and turn that into concrete results. I also want to resolutely take up challenges that include bold policies and reforms that could split public opinion.
 
By the end of 2025, those desires kept intensifying within me as I fielded questions during the plenary sessions of the Diet in both chambers and provided responses across two rounds of Budget Committee deliberations. These three months have given me a painfully clear sense of the unstable state of Japanese politics and the harsh realities of Nagatacho. As the ancient saying goes, “Without trust, nothing can stand.”
 
I came to the conclusion that it is incumbent upon the leader of a democratic nation to candidly put forward important policy shifts for consideration by the people and confidently seek their verdict. At the very heart of this is responsible and proactive public finances, a major departure from the economic and fiscal policies pursued until now. The Takaichi Cabinet will put an end to the trend toward excessive austerity and underinvestment in the future.
 
Strategic fiscal spending aimed at minimizing various risks and unlocking the full potential of cutting-edge technologies will bring about a strong economy which ensures people feel secure and at ease in their daily lives and livelihoods while also increasing employment, raising incomes, and encouraging people to adopt a more positive attitude toward spending, as business profits improve and tax revenues rise naturally, even without raising tax rates.
 
The first pillar of this is strategic investments that enhance resilience against potential crises. These will minimize risks. For example, ensuring well-established food security creates a Japan that will never endure a shortage of food, no matter what circumstances may transpire. By cultivating an environment in which all farmland can be fully utilized, leveraging the latest technologies in agriculture, forestry, and fishing, and broadly expanding Japanese food items into global markets, we will increase demand both domestically and overseas while also bolstering our supply capacity. Japan will also generate significant revenue through the overseas expansion of fully closed and controlled plant factories and land-based aquaculture facilities, where Japanese startups boast world-class technologies.
 
Additionally, it will be critically important to reinforce our energy and resource security. Taking measures to facilitate the stable and affordable supply of electricity is a path we must walk down if we are to safeguard people's daily lives and protect Japanese industries.
 
Japan enjoys strengths in popularizing perovskite solar cells developed in Japan, as well as in the early societal application of next-generation advanced nuclear reactors, such as small modular reactors, and also of fusion energy, where Japanese companies' technologies hold a competitive edge. Moreover, we excel in promoting and disseminating data centers boasting high energy efficiency that is achieved through the application of advanced refrigerant technologies and through photonic-electronic convergence technologies. We have also achieved the societal rollout of oxide-based all-solid-state batteries. It would be a waste not to leverage these strengths.
 
Economic security is also essential. Relying on a limited number of countries to supply the lion's share of our critical minerals, raw materials for pharmaceuticals, or other vitally important goods entails significant risks. The Takaichi Cabinet has already set initiatives in motion to produce resources and raw materials domestically and to diversify our supply sources, with a view to improving Japan's autonomy.
 
Japanese technologies and products are indispensable to the world. This indispensability of Japan also serves to safeguard the peace our nation enjoys. In addition, we are steadily pressing forward in making strategic investments that enhance our resilience against potential crises. Among other efforts, we are working to promote national resilience to protect people's lives, both present and future, from disasters, bolster our medical and health security, and reinforce our cybersecurity.
 
Introducing to society various products, services, and infrastructure that tackle challenges faced in common around the world, first domestically and then in overseas markets, will not only ensure peace of mind for all of us but also lead to economic growth.
 
In the West as well, there has been a major trend to embrace new industrial policies in which the government takes the initiative to act first, aiming at resolving key social issues with public and private sector entities working hand in hand. However, over the course of many years, Japan has not undertaken those kinds of investments sufficiently.
 
The ultimate mission of any state is to protect the lives and livelihoods of its citizens. In order to turn people's unease and apprehension into a sense of assurance as well as hope, it will be necessary for us to undertake bold strategic investments that enhance resilience against potential crises. In the face of the crises currently confronting us, it is incumbent upon us to break free of the spell of excessive fiscal austerity and take action immediately.
 
The second pillar is investments that promote growth. We will bring about a new kind of technology-driven nation by promoting the development of businesses that harness technologies in which Japan holds a competitive advantage, including notably the 17 strategic sectors already identified by the Takaichi Cabinet's Headquarters for Japan's Growth Strategy; by strengthening both our human capital and our research and development capabilities, including in basic research; and by bolstering the support we provide to startups.
 
We will also strategically form industrial clusters all around the nation by soliciting the creation of ideas originating in local communities themselves and then implementing bold investment promotion initiatives and infrastructure development in an integrated manner. No matter which of Japan's 47 prefectures one lives in, a person will be able to live securely, have access to necessary medical care and welfare as well as advanced education, and have places to work.
 
Making the Japanese archipelago stronger and more prosperous -- that is the vision for Japan that the Takaichi Cabinet is striving to achieve. To make that a reality, a strong economy is absolutely vital.
 
The Takaichi Cabinet will fundamentally reform the way the national budget is created. We will make a clean break from the budget formulation method in which it is assumed that a supplementary budget will be compiled each fiscal year, and instead allocate all necessary funds within the initial budget.
 
Furthermore, we will set in place a system through which the government commits to providing fiscal outlays across multiple fiscal years, premised on results-based management being thoroughly implemented. This is intended to enhance the predictability of fiscal expenditures and, with regard to strategic investments that enhance resilience against potential crises and investments that promote growth, enable private-sector entities to undertake capital investments and engage in research and development with confidence.
 
The initial budget for 2026 will be the first step, and we have already laid the groundwork for this. However, the budget requests for the fiscal 2026 budget were completed before I took office. For that reason, we will conduct a review of the policies underlying the formulation of the budget, including for expenditure ceilings, beginning with the stage of formulating budget requests next summer. This major reform will thus require two years to carry out, until the budget for the following fiscal year, fiscal 2027, is enacted. Nevertheless, we will be utterly certain to see this through to completion.
 
The measures to combat rising prices taken thus far by the Takaichi Cabinet are projected to result in real wage growth turning positive this year. That said, the rate of increase in the prices of food items is forecast to remain high.
 
In order to bring about a strong economy, it will be necessary to adopt an approach whereby we increase people's take-home pay, make increases in real wages a certainty in society, and have improved consumer sentiment drive an economic virtuous cycle.
 
As one part of our initiatives to reduce the burden borne by middle- and low-income households struggling in the face of rising prices, the policy to exempt from consumption tax for a period of two years all food and beverage items currently subject to the reduced tax rate is included in the coalition agreement between the LDP and JIP that I signed last year on October 20, and it has also been a long-cherished personal ambition of me. In a National Council to be establish going forward, we will accelerate the consideration of this matter with a view to making it a reality, including specifics regarding the funding resources, the schedule, and other considerations.
 
Stock prices have been on an upward trajectory ever since I took office as prime minister. The pensions that are so vital to our citizens are also managed in part through stocks. The realization of a strong economy also involves transforming anxiety about the future into a sense of reassurance. Through these bold transitions in our economic and fiscal policy, we will make the economic virtuous cycle a reality.
 
As for the budget for fiscal year 2026, the largest in history, there have been criticisms that it is excessive. However, in this budget, the primary balance turned positive for the first time in 28 years, as a result of keeping a watchful eye on the sustainability of public finances. We succeeded in covering the budget necessary for our fiscal 2026 policies without borrowing. We will not be using debt financing to implement our new policies.
 
In the budget for fiscal year 2026, we also kept new sovereign bond issuance well in check to 29.6 trillion yen, the second-lowest level since the 2008 global financial crisis. With tax revenues on the rise, we also succeeded in keeping the degree of overall budgetary dependence on government bonds at its lowest level since the financial crisis subsided. This is precisely how we will bring about a strong economy under the approach of responsible and proactive public finances I advocate.
 
In the future as well, we will curb the growth of our outstanding debt to a rate lower than our rate of economic growth and reduce the government debt-to-GDP ratio, thereby realizing fiscal sustainability. We will clearly set forth concrete, objective indicators to ensure we enjoy the confidence of the markets going forward.
 
It is also true that without the support of the Japanese people, my administration would be unable to pursue strong diplomatic or security initiatives.
 
The international situation is becoming even more severe. The Chinese military has conducted exercises in areas near Taiwan. We have also seen attempts at economic coercion, whereby control over upstream materials in global supply chains -- on which the world depends and which are widely used in commercial products -- is used to force other countries to comply with certain claims.
 
A decade has now passed since Japan proposed the Free and Open Indo-Pacific, and we will work to advance that vision. Since assuming office, I have been afforded many valuable diplomatic opportunities, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-related Summit Meetings, the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) Leaders Meeting, the summit meeting with President Trump, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting, the G20 Summit, the Central Asia plus Japan summit, and many bilateral meetings with the leaders of various countries held on the sidelines of international meetings, including meetings with President Lee Jae Myung and Prime Minister Meloni. Taking the Japan-U.S. Alliance as the cornerstone, we will further strengthen our Japan-U.S.-Republic of Korea, Japan-U.S.-Philippines, Japan-U.S.-Australia, and Japan-Italy-UK cooperation, as well as our cooperation with the Global South and others.
 
In addition, we will fundamentally reinforce our security policies. We will revise what are known as the "Three Strategic Documents," namely the National Security Strategy, the National Defense Strategy, and the Defense Buildup Plan, all ahead of schedule.
 
Learning from Russia's aggression against Ukraine, countries are now urgently preparing for new forms of warfare, including the mass deployment of unmanned drones, and furthermore preparing for extended periods of fighting, under the assumption that once such conditions arise, there is a high likelihood of the situation becoming prolonged. These are major changes from 2022, the last time the Three Strategic Documents were revised. These revisions are a matter of urgency. What we need is to fundamentally revise these documents, not perpetuate the established discourse.
 
We will further reinforce our deterrence capabilities, engage in steady, measured responses to new domains such as space, cyberspace, and the electromagnetic spectrum, build up our defense industrial and technological base to a still greater degree, and improve the treatment of Self-Defense Forces personnel.
 
A country must protect itself through its own efforts. No one will help a country that lacks the resolve to defend itself. In order to defend Japan's peace and independence, as well as the lives of the Japanese people, to the very end, we will take steps toward security policies that are both realistic and resilient.
 
The fortification of our intelligence capabilities is another major challenge that cannot be overcome without the support of the Japanese people. We need the ability to gather sufficient information, analyze it, and make accurate judgments from it. Without robust information capabilities, Japan will also find itself lacking adequate diplomatic capacity, defense capabilities, economic standing, and technological expertise.
 
We will establish a system by which we, as a nation, increase our capacity for analyzing information, prevent crises before they occur, and strategically protect our national interests. In concrete terms, this will involve establishing a National Intelligence Bureau to buttress our information capabilities, establishing a Committee on Foreign Investment in Japan charged with strengthening our national security framework for screening inbound foreign investment, and enacting laws related to intelligence and counterespionage. Urgent action is needed on all of these matters.
 
Also, the refundable tax credits that I advocated during the LDP leadership election are a policy initiative that will make it possible to increase the take-home pay of middle- and low-income earners who suffer in particular from the regressive nature of social insurance premiums. Building a sustainable social security system, including the design of that system, is a matter of urgency that should be addressed by drawing upon Japan's collective wisdom and expertise, transcending party lines.
 
In addition, with regard to revisions to the Imperial House Law and the Constitution of Japan, we will deal squarely with issues that have long gone unaddressed.
 
Such important policies as these cannot be brought to fruition without a stable political foundation and an unambiguous mandate from the Japanese people. Clearly laying out the direction we should advance rather than resorting to ambiguous politics, I wish to openly ask the people for their mandate. It is with that resolve that I decided to dissolve the House of Representatives.
 
The LDP itself must also change. Various criticisms have emerged of both our approach of responsible and proactive public finances and our fundamental reinforcement of security policies. Even so, we will throw ourselves into the execution of these policies with unwavering resolve, with everything we do for the sake of the Japanese people. Without that, we will never succeed in earning the public's trust.
 
Last October's LDP leadership election was a fierce struggle indeed. While it is true I was chosen as party president through a series of spirited policy debates, that was a matter of me being evaluated by the members of the LDP and nothing more.
 
Today I have introduced only a subset of our policies that will undergo particularly major changes, but the LDP will set forth everything, including these, as its policy pledges for the election and ask the electorate to pass judgment. Once the election is over, we will unite as a party and forge ahead tirelessly in working to bring these pledges to realization. That is also a battle for the LDP to return to its origins as a party of the people.
 
Ever since I took office as prime minister, whether the Diet was in session or in recess, and whether I was in Japan or overseas, I have faithfully carried out my pledge to "work, work, work, work, work." During the election campaign period, the Takaichi Cabinet will continue to spare no effort, together with the civil servants from each ministry and agency.
 
It has been suggested that dissolving the Lower House and calling a general election will make it extremely challenging to enact the budget for fiscal year 2026 before the 2025 fiscal year draws to a close [on March 31]. In order to minimize the impact, I intend to implement the general election expeditiously by dissolving the House of Representatives on January 23, officially announcing the election on January 27, and voting and counting the ballots on February 8.
 
Having said that, I intend to have the budget for fiscal year 2026 enacted at the earliest possible time by joining forces with the parties that support my approach of responsible and proactive public finances. Despite that, there may be a need to formulate a provisional budget. Should that happen, the Takaichi Cabinet will make every possible effort to have the budget realized with regard to making senior high school education effectively free and making school lunches effectively free, as it has already been decided that these initiatives will begin in April. We will achieve this by enacting related legislation before the end of the current fiscal year, by preparing a provisional budget, or by taking other means as the situation demands.
 
In fact, if we are granted a public mandate through this election, I believe that afterward, it will be possible to accelerate the realization of our policies.
 
Over the last 26 years, supporters of Komeito provided the LDP with tremendous support every time there was an election. Whether we faced election campaigns in midsummer heat or freezing midwinter winds, we worked shoulder to shoulder, shouting ourselves hoarse as we took on those elections side by side on street corners, in community halls, and on paths along the rice paddies.
 
In this election, our parties ended up going separate ways, but I would like to express once again my appreciation for Komeito's kind support over no less than a quarter century. At the same time, we must be prepared for this to be a tough election for the LDP. My colleagues in the LDP will no longer enjoy the support of Komeito. But that is not all. Candidates affiliated with the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, whom we ran against in the Upper House election held only half a year ago, will now be supported by the party we used to enjoy an alliance with. While this may leave us a little heavy-hearted, this is the reality of the situation.
 
We must put a stop to politics that ignores the people, politics that focuses only on elections, and the logic of Nagatacho. We will instead take steps forward toward building a new nation.
 
The words of former Prime Minister ABE Shinzo a decade ago come to mind.
 
"Difficulties are of course something we have prepared ourselves for. But the future is not something that is granted to us by others. It is something we carve out for ourselves with our own hands."
 
These words are precisely what Japan needs to hear today.
 
A country that never takes on challenges has no future. Politics that only protects will never give rise to hope. A hopeful future will not arrive simply by waiting for it to appear. It is not something that someone else creates for us. We must make decisions, take action, and build that future ourselves. That is why I call this election, "The election for us to build our own future."
 
Japan's future is bright and Japan is full of opportunities. I want to build a society where all people can say that with confidence and feel it to be true. Let us work toward a country where people who take on challenges are recognized, where those who work hard are rewarded, where people help each other when someone falls on hard times, where people can form families feeling secure, and where people are able to work with dreams and aspirations. I want to stand at the forefront as we advance toward that goal. For that reason, I will not shy away, and I will not waver. I will take decisive action.
 
I will pursue politics that is accountable to future generations. Many of the babies born today and many of the 18-year-olds who will vote for the first time this year will be able to witness the Japan of the 22nd century.
 
When that time comes, may Japan be a nation that is both safe and prosperous. And may Japan serve as a shining lighthouse for the Indo-Pacific, held in high regard as a country of freedom and democracy.
 
I hold an unwavering belief in the latent power of Japan and the Japanese people. I will turn on every switch to activate Japan's growth, unleashing its full potential. And I will realize Japanese diplomacy that flourishes on the world's center stage.
 
I, Takaichi Sanae, will, in my capacity as prime minister, undertake a number of reforms and press forward with major policy shifts. The question is whether you will move forward together with me on this path, or whether we will remain standing still amidst unstable politics. I wish to leave the choice in the hands of the people, with whom sovereign power rests. As for me, I wish to chart a course forward, together with the Japanese people.
 
Japan can become stronger. Japan can become more prosperous. Japan can become a nation more full of hope. Let us build that future together!
 
I will say it once again: let us make the Japanese archipelago stronger and more prosperous. Together, let us carve out a new era.
 
In closing, let me say that while elections are the foundation of democracy, this election campaign comes in the very heart of winter. For those in snowy regions in particular, I am truly grateful for the considerable effort it will take to reach the polling stations. I also wish to express my wholehearted appreciation to all those in local governments who will be involved in election-related work during this busy time of year as we get closer to the end of the fiscal year.
 
I will end my opening statement here. Thank you very much.