Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, has widened its lead from last week in a Kyodo News Agency survey of the proportional representation race ahead of the February 8 election, with 36.1% saying they support the party - a 6.9 percentage point increase.
The Centrist Reform Alliance - a new major opposition force - is in second place with 13.9%, up 2 points from the previous poll. At the single-member district level, the survey, conducted over two days from Saturday, showed that 44% would vote for candidates supported by the ruling camp in the House of Representatives elections, while 26.5% would support their opposition rivals.
The snap election was scheduled for January, with Takaichi seeking to expand the fragile majority in the lower house of his coalition government, which collapsed several months ago.
However, the outlook for the election remains uncertain: 27.2% say they have not yet decided who to vote for in the constituencies, and 21.3% are undecided about their choice of party list under the proportional system.
The survey showed 63.6% approval for Takaichi's cabinet - an increase of just 0.5 points from the previous poll in late January. The disapproving share was almost unchanged at 25.6%, up 0.6 points.
Enthusiasm for the opposition Center Reform Alliance, a new party formed by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito, a former coalition partner of the LDP, is weak: 71% say they do not expect much from it, up 4 points.
The alliance is under pressure to prove it can unite voters of the parties that created it. Co-chair Yoshihiko Noda told reporters on Sunday that it would bear a "great responsibility" if the new party failed to retain the seats it is defending in the upcoming vote.
Voters cast two ballots in Japan's lower house elections, one for the lower house and one for the upper house. one for a candidate in their local constituency and one for a political party on the proportional list.
The Democratic People's Party - a small right-wing opposition party that was once seen as a possible coalition partner for the LDP - is third in the proportional vote with 5.7%, down from 8.4%, a sign that it may struggle to maintain its momentum from the last election.
The populist "Senseito", which saw strong gains in the House of Councillors elections in the summer of 2025 with its "Japan First" platform, is fourth with 5.6%. The LDP's small coalition partner - the Japan Innovation Party - is fifth with 5.4%, ahead of “Sanseito“.
The most important issue for voters continues to be measures to ease the pressure of rising living costs – cited by 53.6% (with more than one answer possible), as Japanese households face persistent inflation that is outpacing wage growth.
Social security, including pensions, is cited by 28.6%, while 19.5% cite diplomacy and national security.
Amid strong interest in economic support, major political parties, including the LDP and the Center Reform Alliance, have presented proposals to reduce the consumption tax on food.