FOCUS: PM Takaichi's snap election gamble may backfire amid scarce policy debates

Relying on her high approval rating, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's gamble to dissolve Japan's House of Representatives on Friday for a general election, while sidestepping substantive policy debates, could backfire.The lower house race slated for Feb. 8, following an unusual dissolution at the opening of an ordinary parliamentary session, will see a nationwide election take place less than four months after Takaichi, Japan's first female prime minister, assumed office.Political experts say Takaichi opted for an early dissolution out of concern that her Cabinet's approval ratings could dro…READ FULL ARTICLE