The Tamesis
January 29, 2026
Tokyo – Formal campaigning for House of Representatives elections kicked off on Tuesday, with both the ruling and opposition parties prioritizing fielding their own candidates over inter-party coordination. Some districts have become crowded battlegrounds, reflecting an increasingly multi-party political landscape, and the race for votes nationwide is expected to be fierce.
In addition, the focus of the election will be the showdown between the Liberal Democratic Party, which aims to win a majority for the ruling bloc, and the centrist Reform Alliance, which seeks to become the largest party in Congress.
“Last time, [he] Won by just 3,000 votes. This time, the environment is more severe. “We need your strength,” LDP Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told a crowd in Saitama Prefecture on Tuesday, where he was campaigning for a former LDP lawmaker seeking a sixth term in Saitama’s 1st district.
A tight race is expected to be fought in the CRA, with a former MP who narrowly lost the 2024 Commons election but gained a seat through the proportional representation section to run again. CRA joint secretary-general Jun Azumi is due to visit the constituency on Wednesday to bolster support.
In the country’s 289 single-seat constituencies, the Liberal Democratic Party has supported 285 candidates, while the CRA has fielded 202 candidates. The CRA, formed jointly by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Komeito Party, was formally established on January 22, the day before the House of Representatives was dissolved. Despite the tight schedule, the roster was expanded through emergency recruitment. As the main opposition force, its size is comparable to the 207 candidates fielded by the China Democracy Party in the 2024 election.
Therefore, the LDP and CRA will go head-to-head in 200 constituencies (nearly 70% of the total), including constituencies such as Saitama 1st District and Kagawa 1st District, and competitions between former LDP cabinet ministers and current CRA former legislators.
The outcome of these direct conflicts is expected to determine the overall winner of the election. Leaders of both parties visited these key constituencies on the first day, trading tit-for-tat blows.
In Sendai, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, president of the Liberal Democratic Party, pointed the finger at the former Democratic Party of Japan government once led by Yoshihiko Noda, now co-leader of the CRA. “While people complain about a weak yen now, we were faced with a strong yen at the time,” she said. “Exports have stalled and our industry has been hollowed out.”
Meanwhile, Noda argued in Fukushima: “Has the ‘politics and money’ scandal been resolved? The LDP has shown no real remorse.”
Focus on “Komeito Party votes”
The most concerning factor in the competition between the Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic People’s Political Consultative Conference is the whereabouts of the Komeito votes. The end of a long-standing alliance between Komeito and the Liberal Democratic Party to form a new party has upended the electoral landscape. An LDP veteran hopes that “a certain number of votes will go to the LDP given our long-term partnership.” [with Komeito]”, a former Liberal Democratic Party cabinet minister is worried about a large exodus of people to the CRA.
Both sides face challenges. The LDP chose not to coordinate with the Japan Innovation Party on the candidates it fielded in most constituencies, resulting in ruling party conflicts in 59 of 200 key battlegrounds between the LDP and CRA. The Liberal Democratic Party and Japan Independence Party compete in a total of 85 constituencies, which will inevitably split the pro-government vote.
To alleviate the problem, the LDP sought JIP support in non-competitive constituencies and had recommended 129 candidates as of Tuesday. Takaichi appeared at a rally on Tuesday with JIP co-leader Hirofumi Yoshimura to show a sense of unity.
At the same time, the CRA was at odds with the Japanese Communist Party over issues of security-related legislation. The Japanese Communist Party has reacted strongly to the China Democracy Party’s policy shift and has fielded 158 candidates in single-seat constituencies. With the JCP winning in 96 of the 200 constituencies contested by the LDP and CRA, the two opposition forces will compete for an equal number of anti-administrative votes.
