Heads of Japanese parties including Sanae Takaichi, president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), attend the party leaders' debate ahead of the House of Representatives election at the Japan National Press Club in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, on January 26, 2026. Photo: VCG

Amid sliding public approval rating of her cabinet, ahead of Japan's lower house election campaign officially kicking off on Tuesday, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi claimed on Monday that she would "step down immediately" if the ruling coalition with Japan Innovation Party (JIP) fails to secure a majority, Jiji Press reported.

Takaichi made the claim at a debate in Tokyo on Monday, where leaders of ruling and opposition parties clashed over key issues such as consumption tax cuts and policies concerning foreign residents, according to Jiji Press.

Takaichi dissolved the lower house at the start of the ordinary Diet session on Friday, paving the way for a snap election for February 8 and launching the shortest campaign period in Japan’s post-war history. The election, with 465 seats at stake, will take place just 16 days after the dissolution, following the upcoming official campaign kickoff on Tuesday, Asahi Shimbun reported on Friday.

Following the dissolution of the Japanese lower house, the approval ratings of the cabinet of Takaichi declined to 57 percent in a nationwide Mainichi Shimbun opinion poll conducted on January 24 and 25, down 10 percentage points from the 67 percent recorded in the previous survey in December, Mainichi Shimbun reported Monday.

According to the report, the disapproval ratings of the cabinet climbed 7 points to 29 percent from the 22 percent in the previous poll conducted on December 20 and 21 last year. 

According to Mainichi Shimbun, regarding Takaichi's decision to dissolve the lower house at the outset of the regular Diet session last week for her to call a snap general election, 41 percent of respondents said they "disapprove of" it, indicating that public understanding of her decision has not spread. Only 27 percent said they "approve of" her decision to disband the lower chamber, while 31 percent replied they were "not sure."

Also, a weekend poll by Nikkei and TV Tokyo shows that public support for Takaichi's administration has fallen below 70 percent for the first time since she took office last October, as she is set to lead her party into an election on a tax cut pledge, Nikkei Shimbun reported Sunday.

Regarding the 51st House of Representatives election, Kyodo News conducted a questionnaire survey targeting prospective candidates, with 941 respondents as of Sunday. Concerning Takaichi's administration, a combined 42.5 percent of respondents expressed "approval" or "relatively approval," while the total for "disapproval" and "relatively disapproval" stood at 42.8 percent, indicating a polarized opinion, Kyodo News reported on Monday. 

Jiji Press reported Monday that, Takaichi, explaining her reason for dissolving the lower house, claimed that the coalition government has undertaken major policy transformations, “so I decided to seek a public mandate." 
 
Takaichi's dissolution of the lower house has drawn successive criticism from opposition parties, including questions such as "Why now?" and concerns that it "will create a political vacuum," according to Japanese media reports.

According to Jiji Press on Monday, the Japanese prime minister also noted that she would "seek to explore possibilities" for the Democratic Party for the People to join the coalition government. However, Democratic Party for the People leader Yuichiro Tamaki said regarding interactions with the LDP that "the relationship of trust has been shaken."

Global Times