JAPAN PARLIAMENT TO VOTE FOR PM ON WEDNESDAY, TAKAICHI SET TO WIN

TOKYO, Feb 13 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- Japan's parliament will hold a vote on Wednesday to elect the next premier, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi almost certain to win, when it convenes for the start of the 150-day special Diet session on the same day, Kyodo News Agency reported.

The schedule, approved in a Cabinet decision on Friday, comes as Takaichi's months-old government holds a stronger hand in the House of Representatives after her ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) scored a landslide victory in the Feb 8 lower house election.

The prime minister is expected to launch her second Cabinet after the vote.

The special session is likely to focus in its early stages on the timing of the enactment of the initial budget for fiscal 2026, which had been expected to pass by the end of March ahead of the April start of the fiscal year, before the snap election was called.

Speeches by the prime minister and three other senior ministers will be held next Friday.

The schedule's Cabinet approval comes after it was officially conveyed to the ruling and opposition parties by the government earlier in the day.

The special session is expected to last at least until July 17, matching the length of the ordinary session of the Diet, which was dissolved on its opening day in January for the election.

In the election, the LDP and its junior coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, won 352 seats, more than two-thirds of the powerful lower chamber, up from the razor-thin majority the coalition held before the vote.

Takaichi has indicated she intends to continue seeking cooperation from opposition parties, as the ruling coalition remains a minority in the 248-seat House of Councillors.

-- BERNAMA-KYODO