ISTANBUL

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) remains voters’ top choice ahead of the country’s Feb. 8 general elections, according to a Kyodo News poll released Sunday.

Asked which party they would support in the proportional representation vote, 29.2% said the LDP led by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who took office last October, while the new opposition Centrist Reform Alliance trailed in second place with 11.9%.

In the nationwide telephone survey done on Saturday and Sunday, approval for Takaichi – who dissolved the House of Representatives on Friday – fell to 63.1% from 67.5% in December. Her disapproval rating climbed to 25% from 20.4%.

Voters will cast two ballots in the upcoming elections, the first under Takaichi’s leadership, as the LDP runs in coalition with the Japan Innovation Party. One vote is for a constituency candidate, and the other for a political party.

The Kyodo poll found that 40% plan to support ruling coalition candidates in single-seat districts, while 22.8% favor opposition candidates. Another 34.9% remain undecided.

The election will serve as the first major test for the new opposition party, formed through a merger of the largest opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Komeito party, which ended its long-standing alliance with the LDP last October, marking a significant shift in Japan’s political landscape.

Even so, 67% of respondents said they do not place their hopes in the new opposition party, far exceeding the 28.2% who said they are optimistic, the poll showed.