Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party is expected to maintain its dominance in the Dec. 14 House of Representatives election and claim more than 300 of the 475 seats, according to the latest Kyodo News survey.
The figure is far higher than Abe's goal of securing an overall majority of 238 seats with the LDP's junior coalition partner, Komeito, and even exceeds the 295 seats the LDP held before the more powerful Lower House was dissolved two weeks ago.
The telephone survey, conducted Tuesday and Wednesday, also showed that the main opposition force, the Democratic Party of Japan, is unlikely to pose a major threat to the LDP. The party is projected to win around 70 seats, up from 59 at the time of the chamber's dissolution but well below its target of 100.