Japan PM Takaichi dissolves lower house for Feb. 8 election to seek mandate

TOKYO - Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi dissolved Japan's House of Representatives on Friday for a snap general election on Feb. 8, seeking a public mandate to push through her economic and security policy agenda with her new coalition partner.

The dissolution of the lower house at the outset of the ordinary parliamentary session effectively kicked off a short campaign period for the election, with the ruling and opposition camps both floating the idea of abandoning the consumption tax on food to ease the burden on inflation-hit households.