High-Ranking Japanese Political Figures Work to Boost Support in Own Constituencies Following Lower House Dissolution

The Yomiuri Shimbun

7:00 JST, January 26, 2026

Both ruling and opposition party executives headed to their constituencies on the first weekend following the dissolution of the House of Representatives. They aim to consolidate their support base in their own districts.

The executives will be traveling across the nation to support their respective candidates during the election campaign, which is set to officially begin on Tuesday. This limits the time for them in their constituencies.

The Liberal Democratic Party’s Election Strategy Committee chairperson Keiji Furuya opened his campaign office in his constituency in Ena, Gifu Prefecture on Saturday. As the party’s campaign chief, he has been working on choosing candidates and coordinating for electoral districts since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi began considering whether to dissolve the lower house.

“I’ve barely been able to return to my own constituency for past few weeks,” said Furuya. “Yesterday, I was working at LDP headquarters until 2 a.m. this morning.” He remains busy with tasks such as adjusting the order of candidates on the proportional representation lists. “I receive about 150 calls a day.”

After official campaigning begins, Furuya intends to devote his efforts into helping LDP candidates shore up their support in districts that are hotly contested, saying: “It is the fate of being a party leadership to support our candidates to win.”

On the same day, Takayuki Kobayashi, who is the LDP Policy Research Council chairperson, also visited his home constituency of Hanamigawa Ward in Chiba City. Kobayashi was busy making street speeches and attending a neighborhood association’s new year gathering.

During the last lower house election in 2024, Kobayashi could only spend an hour in his own constituency during the official campaigning period. For the rest of the time, he visited other districts to support the LDP candidates who had backed him in the party’s presidential election. This year, he again received many requests from other districts for his support. “I will work hard so that as many capable individuals as possible can take their seats in the Diet,” he said.

The Centrist Reform Alliance’s Co-secretary General Jun Azumi on Saturday expressed his commitment for the newly founded party at a press conference in his constituency of Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture. “We want to build this party into one that receives broad support based on coexistence and inclusiveness, not the politics that fuel confrontation and division,” he said.

Asked about his own election campaign, Azumi responded, “I was busy working for the party until yesterday. I hope I can talk to my supporters now.” In the evening, he promptly moved to JR Sendai Station and took the microphone alongside the party’s prospective candidate from Miyagi Prefecture.