36% of Japanese Voters Say They Will Back LDP in Proportional Representation Race

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:40 JST, January 26, 2026

Thirty-six percent of people will vote for the Liberal Democratic Party in the proportional representation segment of the upcoming House of Representatives election, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun nationwide survey conducted Friday through Sunday.

The election will be held on Feb. 8, with official campaign starting Tuesday.

Following the LDP’s 36% — the highest figure — 9% said they would vote for the Centrist Reform Alliance, a new party created by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito. Another 9% said they would vote for the Democratic Party for the People.

Asked whether they had hopes for the new party, 22% said they did, far smaller than the percentage who said they did not, at 69%

In a survey in October 2024, conducted right before official campaigning started for the last general election, 39% said they would vote for the LDP. Another 12% chose the CDPJ as the party they would vote for in the proportional representation segment. 4% named Komeito and 2% supported DPFP. The latest figure for the CRA is lower than the combined figure for the CDPJ and Komeito in the 2024 poll.

In the recent survey, 7% said they would vote for the Japan Innovation Party, unchanged from 7% in the October 2024 survey. Sanseito was supported by 5% of respondents, compared to 1% in the October 2024 survey. Sixteen percent said they had not decided which party to vote for, compared with 19% in 2024.

As for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s decision to dissolve the lower house, 52% said they “do not approve,” exceeding the 38% who backed the move.

The Takaichi Cabinet’s approval rating stood at 69%, down 4 points from the previous survey, conducted from Dec. 19-21 last year, but it remained high. Twenty-three percent of respondents disapproved of the Cabinet, compared to 14% in the previous survey.

When asked what sort of administration they would like to see after the election, 59% said they favored a government centered around the LDP, as at present. Only 22% favored opposition parties taking the reins. In the October 2024 survey, 53% sought an LDP-centered government and 29% were in favor of a shakeup. The 2024 general election resulted in the ruling LDP-Komeito coalition losing its majority in the lower house.

Regarding Takaichi’s “responsible and proactive” approach to finances, which prioritizes economic growth, 72% said they approve, compared to 74% in the previous survey, while 22% said they did not approve, up from 16%.

On the Takaichi Cabinet’s stance against China, 59% were in support, compared to 62% in the previous survey, while 28% disapproved, up from 25%.

When it came to inflation, 35% said they approved of the government’s response, the same as in the previous survey, while 54% said they did not approve, up from 50%.

In approval ratings for parties, the LDP stood at 35%, up from 30% in the December survey. The DPFP fell to 6%, down one percentage point. The CRA stood at 5%. Sanseito was unchanged at 4%. The JIP fell to 3%, down from 4%. The Japanese Communist Party rose to 2%, up from 1%. Thirty-one percent of respondents said they were unaffiliated, down from 41%.