Sanae Takaichi’s coalition pulls ahead in pre-election survey
Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, has widened its lead ahead of the Feb. 8 general election, according to a new Kyodo News poll released Sunday, Qazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
The survey shows 36.1% of voters backing the LDP in the proportional representation race, up 6.9% points from the previous poll. The Centrist Reform Alliance, a newly formed opposition bloc, ranks second with 13.9%, gaining 2.0 points.
At the district level, 44% of respondents said they would vote for candidates backed by the ruling camp, compared with 26.5% for opposition contenders. Those expecting the ruling bloc to win more seats than the opposition stood at 42.4%.
Prime Minister Takaichi called the snap election in January in an effort to strengthen her coalition’s narrow majority in the powerful House of Representatives. Her Cabinet’s approval rating remains strong at 63.6%, up slightly by 0.5 point, while the disapproval rate held largely steady at 25.6%.
Public confidence in the Centrist Reform Alliance, formed by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Komeito party, the LDP’s former coalition partner, appears limited. About 71% of respondents said they do not expect much from the new alliance, a rise of 4.0 points.
In Japan’s lower house elections, voters cast two ballots, one for a local candidate and one for a political party under proportional representation.
Among other parties, the Democratic Party for the People placed third with 5.7% support, down from 8.4%. The populist Sanseito party followed closely at 5.6%, ahead of the LDP’s junior coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, which came in fifth with 5.4%.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that the female candidates account for record 24.4% in Japan lower house poll.
