TOKYO -- Japan's House of Representatives was formally dissolved on Friday at the outset of the ordinary parliamentary session, with a general election set for Feb 8.

The official campaign will start next Tuesday, creating a mere 16-day campaign period, the shortest in Japan's postwar history.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced her decision on Monday to dissolve the 465-seat lower house for a snap election, aiming to capitalize on her cabinet's current high approval ratings.

With more than two years left in the current lower house term, Takaichi has justified her decision to call a snap election by arguing she has yet to receive public backing for her premiership that began in October and the new ruling coalition of her Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party formed the same month.

Takaichi's decision has been criticized for leaving voters little time to assess competing policy proposals. Opposition parties have also slammed Takaichi's plan, saying she is putting political considerations ahead of parliament's enactment of an initial budget for fiscal 2026 starting in April, despite her pledge to prioritize policy implementation.

This will be the first general election for Takaichi as prime minister. Her ruling coalition currently holds only a slim majority in the powerful House of Representatives and remains a minority in the House of Councillors.

Meanwhile, the Centrist Reform Alliance, formally launched on Thursday, has become Japan's main opposition party with 165 lower house lawmakers. The new alliance between the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Komeito party aims to defeat the conservative ruling bloc in the upcoming contest.