Editorial

15:31 JST, January 24, 2026

Can the ruling coalition — the Liberal Democratic Party, led by Japan’s first female prime minister, and its partner the Japan Innovation Party — stabilize the foundation for her administration as intended?

Or will a new party advocating a centrist policy line seize control of the political situation? With the arrival of an era of multiparty politics, the moves of emerging forces cannot be overlooked.

Moreover, in principle, there reportedly will be no electoral cooperation between the ruling parties, nor will there be any among the opposition forces. The outcome of the House of Representatives election is extremely difficult to predict. Voters’ choices will carry greater weight than ever before.

At the start of the ordinary Diet session, the lower house was dissolved, effectively kicking off the election campaign. The lower house election will follow a schedule in which official campaigning starts on Jan. 27, with voting and ballot counting on Feb. 8.

Although the Cabinet of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is maintaining high approval ratings, it is hard to say that expectations for the LDP are rising.

Takaichi has positioned this election as an opportunity to choose between her own continuation as prime minister or a replacement by other figures, such as Yoshihiko Noda, coleader of the Centrist Reform Alliance, a new party formed by the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito. The aim is........

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