Photo taken on January. 23, 2026, shows a street television reporting news that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi dissolved the House of Representatives earlier in the day for a snap general election on February 8. Photo: VCG

The latest Mainichi Shimbun poll shows public support for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's cabinet has fallen by 10 percentage points compared with its previous survey, Mainichi Shimbun reported on Sunday. The survey also indicated that more people disapproved the dissolution of the lower house than those approved it. 

The Mainichi Shimbun conducted a nationwide public opinion survey on Saturday and Sunday. Support for the Takaichi’s cabinet stood at 57 percent, down 10 percentage points from 67 percent in the Japanese media outlet’s previous survey conducted on December 20 and 21, 2025. The disapproval rate rose to 29 percent, up 7 percentage points from 22 percent in the previous poll. 

Since Takaichi’s cabinet was inaugurated last October, support for the cabinet had remained at a high level between 65 and 67 percent for three consecutive months, but it fell ahead of the upcoming lower house snap election on February 8. Regarding the prime minister’s decision to dissolve the lower house at the start of the ordinary Diet session on January 23, 41 percent respondents said they “disapprove,” indicating limited public understanding, per report.

Only 27 percent of respondents said they “approve” of the prime minister’s decision to dissolve the House of Representatives, being outnumbered by those who disapprove. Meanwhile, 31 percent are undecided, according to the Mainichi Shimbun report. 

Takaichi on Friday dissolved the lower house of parliament, paving the way for a snap election on February 8. Takaichi’s decision has been criticized as serving her and Liberal Democratic Party’s political interests, drawing criticism from several leaders of Japan’s opposition parties.

Following the dissolution of the House of Representatives, Yoshihiko Noda, co-leader of the Centrist Reform Alliance, a party newly formed by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito, said on January 23 that he still felt that “there is absolutely no justifiable reason” to dissolve the House of Representatives under the circumstance that Japan is currently facing a mountain of problems such as soaring prices, Yomiuri Shimbun reported on January 23, 2026. 

Social Democratic Party leader Mizuho Fukushima criticized Takaichi's lower house dissolution, noting that “those who carry out a ‘selfish, reckless dissolution’ will also engage in ‘selfish, reckless politics,” Abema Times reported on January 23, 2026. 

Global Times