Japanese Ruling, Opposition Party Senior Officials Begin Preparing for Lower House Election

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:55 JST, January 24, 2026

Senior officials of both ruling and opposition parties began full-fledged preparations on Saturday for the upcoming House of Representatives election following the dissolution of the lower house the previous day.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party intends to compete for votes by pledging policies touted by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who is also the LDP president, against the backdrop of her high approval ratings.

The Centrist Reform Alliance, a new party formed by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito, is taking a confrontational stance toward the prime minister.

The election is scheduled to be held on Feb. 8, with official campaigning to start Tuesday.

Keiji Furuya, chairperson of the LDP Election Strategy Committee, opened his campaign office in Ena, Gifu Prefecture, his electoral turf, on Saturday morning.

“This election has become something of a sprint,” Furuya said. “We will boldly shift both economic and fiscal policies and seek a public mandate.”

The LDP has set Takaichi’s signature policies, such as one aimed at “responsible and proactive public finances,” as key campaign pledges.

“The pledges strongly reflect the prime minister’s vision,” LDP Policy Research Council Chairperson Takayuki Kobayashi told reporters on Saturday morning.

“We want to build a Japan that can stand at the center of the world under the leadership of the prime minister,” Kobayashi said.

Fumitake Fujita, coleader of the Japan Innovation Party, told reporters on Saturday morning: “This is an election on the policies we’ve touted in our coalition agreement with the LDP. We want to boldly engage in debate as the driving force for reform under the Takaichi administration.”

Opposition parties are also intensifying campaign activities to gain more support.

During a street speech in Tachikawa, Tokyo, on Saturday morning, CRA coleader Yoshihiko Noda criticized Takaichi’s decision to dissolve the lower house at the start of the ordinary Diet session.

“Did the prime minister work, work and work? She hasn’t worked, has she? This is unreasonable,” Noda said.

Noda is aiming to quickly make the party’s name more well-known through media appearances in order to attract voters who are critical of the government.

Democratic Party for the People leader Yuichiro Tamaki gave a street speech in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, on Saturday morning.

“We want to change politics from the old version, which prioritizes political maneuvering and elections, to a new version, which prioritizes the lives of the people,” Tamaki said.

Sanseito was to hold a meeting of its prospective official candidates in Yokohama on Saturday afternoon.

Party leader Sohei Kamiya was also expected to give a street speech later the same day.