The Democratic Party for the People made surprisingly large gains in the October 2024 Lower House election, quadrupling its number of seats to 28. But now, the DPP finds itself struggling as the July 20 Upper House vote approaches.
Controversies over its choice of candidates and speculation that other parties, like the right-wing Sanseito, might be more attractive to the DPP’s conservative supporters have left the small opposition party unable to greatly expand its popularity.
A July 4 to 6 NHK poll showed the DPP with a 5.1% support rate, making it the second most popular opposition party after the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (8.5%). However, the DPP’s figure is down from April, after parliament passed the 2025 fiscal year budget. At the time, the DPP’s support rate stood at 7.9%.
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