TOKYO, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to dissolve parliament next week and call a snap general election, the secretary general of her ruling party said on Wednesday.
Takaichi is considering an election date of February 8, a source with knowledge of the matter said, in line with media reports.
"We need to seek a fresh mandate," Shunichi Suzuki, secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, told reporters after meeting Takaichi on Wednesday.
Parliament is unlikely to pass the budget for fiscal 2026 by the end of the current fiscal year in March if the election is held and Takaichi is considering a stopgap budget, as she has pledged to roll out inflation countermeasures as soon as possible, the Yomiuri newspaper said earlier.
(Reporting by Tamiyuki Kihara and Kantaro Komiya; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by Chris Reese)
