YOKOHAMA -- Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi intends to dissolve the House of Representatives for a snap election, leaving local governments in Kanagawa Prefecture scrambling to manage the situation.

Takaichi is believed to be eyeing an immediate dissolution during a regular Diet session to be convened Jan. 23, likely setting the election schedule on Jan. 27 for the start of the official campaign and Feb. 8 for voting and ballot counting. If the plan proceeds, the period between dissolution and the voting day will be a mere 16 days -- the shortest in postwar history. This has left election commissions across the prefecture in a state of utter distress.

In the city of Hadano, preparations for the mayoral election scheduled for Jan. 25 have already begun, with the election campaign commencing Jan. 18 as the incumbent's term comes to an end. Hadano officials must now prepare for the mayoral race while keeping a close eye on the lower house election schedule. "Securing election witnesses (for the lower house vote) will be difficult," a city election official said.

The unusually short preparation period has left them discouraged and confused. The Hadano official commented, "We have never experienced anything this busy. The city staff are working on their days off and are physically exhausted, but we'll get through this."

Meanwhile, the city of Kawasaki just held its mayoral election last October. The municipal officials juggle the task of compiling records for the mayoral race as they brace for the general election. According to the city's election commission, if they started ordering campaign poster bulletin boards and voting admission tickets after the schedule was finalized, it would be too late to meet the deadline, so they have already begun preparations.

There are concerns that the delivery of admission tickets may be delayed, but one Kawasaki official said, "Even without a ticket, people can still vote if their identity can be verified." The city plans to use social media and other platforms to notify residents of this.

Although the successive elections have added to the workload, the official appeared determined, saying, "Every election is important. We tackle them with everything we've got."

Kanagawa Prefecture's election commission is in a rush to create posters and videos for the lower house race in order to prevent a decline in voter turnout. A person in charge stated, "It's sudden and the timeframe is short, so new initiatives are difficult," while adding, "We want to carry on as usual so we can effectively raise awareness."

(Japanese original by Daiki Yano, Yokohama Bureau)