TOKYO - Leaders of multiple Japanese opposition parties slammed Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's dissolution of the lower house on Friday as lacking "justification".

Japan's House of Representatives was formally dissolved on Friday, marking the first dissolution at the start of a regular parliamentary session in 60 years.

Friday marked the opening day of Japan's ordinary Diet session, during which a key task is to deliberate and approve an initial budget for fiscal 2026 starting April. The dissolution could significantly delay the budget review process.

Yoshihiko Noda, co-leader of the new main opposition party Centrist Reform Alliance, said he feels "no justification" for the dissolution, given Japan is currently facing a mountain of pressing issues, Kyodo News reported.

Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the Democratic Party for the People, said it was "extremely regrettable that this has become a dissolution that puts the economy second", the report said.

Tomoko Tamura, chair of the Japanese Communist Party, pointed out that rising prices have pushed people's livelihoods into difficulty. She criticized Takaichi for avoiding open and fair debates before the public and instead choosing to dissolve the lower house.

Mizuho Fukushima, leader of Japan's Social Democratic Party, said that those who dissolve the House of Representatives solely for personal interests and act unilaterally will also govern politics in a self-serving and arbitrary manner.

According to TBS Television, following the dissolution of the lower house, the Japanese government convened an extraordinary cabinet meeting and decided to issue the official notice for the House of Representatives election on Jan 27, with voting scheduled for Feb 8.