Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s approval ratings saw a slight dip in several polls conducted over the weekend, indicating the riskiness of her decision to call a snap election in early February.

The polls paint an early picture of how voters are viewing the election that Takaichi announced last week as she seeks a mandate backing her premiership. While her approval rate remains fairly high by historical standards, the dip in support shows some voters didn’t support the idea of calling a snap election.

Support for Takaichi slipped 4 points to 63% in a Kyodo poll, 4 points to 69% in the Yomiuri newspaper, and 5.4 points to 57.6% in broadcaster ANN’s survey. Bigger drops were seen in the Nikkei and Mainichi newspapers, with Nikkei marking an 8-point decline to 67% and Mainichi seeing a 10-point fall to 57%.

The Mainichi report showed that 41% of respondents didn’t agree with the timing of Takaichi’s dissolution of parliament, which fell on the opening day of the regular parliamentary session, inevitably delaying passage of the budget for the fiscal year starting April.

Despite the slide, Takaichi’s approval is still hitting the upper 60s in some polls, speaking to her enduring underlying popularity and leaving her with some leeway.

The Centrist Reform Alliance, a party borne out of a merger between what was the largest opposition Constitutional Democratic Party and the Liberal Democratic Party’s former junior coalition partner Komeito, appears to be struggling to gain ground despite its efforts to challenge the ruling party.

The ANN poll showed that 26% had hopes for the CRA while 62% said they didn’t. The Yomiuri survey tracked a similar trend, with 22% saying they were hopeful while 69% said they weren’t.

Despite frustration over Takaichi’s decision to call the election and some skepticism over her plans to suspend the sales tax on food temporarily, voters were supportive of the current coalition formed last October between the LDP and Japan Innovation Party.

Some 67% of people in the Nikkei poll wanted to see the LDP-JIP partnership in government, while 54% in the ANN poll wanted to see a continuation of an LDP-led coalition in power.

An age-based breakdown of the Nikkei survey showed that the LDP remained the most popular party among voters aged under 39. If they didn’t support the LDP, they were more inclined to vote for the DPP or Sanseito instead of the CRA, compared to older generations. While 35% said they would vote for the LDP, 18% preferred the DPP and 11% went for Sanseito, while just 4% supported the CRA.

That survey also showed that 40% of respondents planned to vote for the ruling LDP. That figure is on par with a similar survey from the previous lower house election in October 2024, when the LDP led by then-premier Shigeru Ishiba lost its grip on power in that chamber.

While Takaichi seems to be banking on her personal popularity to boost the number of seats in the lower house and cement her power, polls suggest that her personal support hasn’t necessarily translated to support for the party, muddying the outlook on whether the LDP can pull off a win.

Official campaigning starts on Tuesday. Voters will head to the polls on Feb. 8.

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