A Yomiuri Shimbun nationwide survey found that 55% of respondents viewed the recent House of Representatives election outcome positively. The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party secured more than two-thirds of the lower house seats. High expectations for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's political stance emerged as the largest driver of support.
A Yomiuri Shimbun nationwide survey conducted on February 10 and 11 showed that 55% of respondents said the outcome of the recent House of Representatives election was good, 32% said it was not, and 8% were undecided. Sunday's election saw the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Japan Innovation Party (JIP) secure more than two-thirds of all seats in the lower house, while the newly established Centrist Reform Alliance suffered significant losses.
Approval for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Cabinet stood at 67%, slightly down from 69% in the previous survey last month but still high. This contrasts with the October 2024 lower house election, in which the LDP suffered a major defeat and approval for then-Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Cabinet plunged to 34%.
When asked about reasons for the LDP's large gains, 81% cited 'high expectations for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s political stance,' far ahead of 64% for 'opposition party leaders were unappealing,' 59% for 'opposition parties weren’t sufficiently prepared for the campaign,' and 58% for 'the Takaichi Cabinet’s economic policies were widely approved of.' On the seat distribution, 49% felt 'the opposition parties should have won more seats,' 39% said it was 'just right,' and 6% thought 'the ruling parties should have won more seats.'
Voters' top priorities included 81% selecting 'economic measures and combating high prices,' 65% for 'foreign policy and security,' and 64% for both 'reforms to the tax system, including the consumption tax' and 'social security, including pensions.' Most parties pledged cuts or abolition of the consumption tax, a move approved by 58% and disapproved by 38%.
Party support rose for the LDP to 40% from 35%, the Centrist Reform Alliance to 7% from 5%, Sanseito to 5% from 4%, Team Mirai to 4% from 1%, and the JIP to 4% from 3%; the Democratic Party for the People fell to 5% from 6%, and independents dropped to 23% from 31%. The survey called 730 landlines and 2,343 mobiles, yielding 1,037 valid responses from 379 landline and 658 mobile users, all eligible voters aged 18 or older.
