The election followed a tumultuous period in Japanese politics which saw the sudden resignation of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2020 due to health issues and the short premiership of his successor Yoshihide Suga, who stepped down as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) after only about a year in office due to poor approval ratings.

[6] However, Abe shocked observers when he announced on 28 August 2020 that he would resign the premiership due to a sudden resurgence of his ulcerative colitis.

[7] Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga was elected the next President of the LDP in September 2020 and succeeded Abe as Prime Minister days later.

[10][11] The period since 2017 also saw the creation of Reiwa Shinsengumi, a left-wing populist party formed by former actor Taro Yamamoto, whose central policy position is abolition of the consumption tax.

[12] While beginning office relatively popular, Prime Minister Suga's approval ratings gradually worsened due to public dissatisfaction over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, including Japan's slow vaccine rollout compared to the rest of the developed world, and his management of the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

[16] However, this did not translate into an upturn in Suga's personal ratings as the event coincided with a state of emergency while COVID-19 cases in Japan continued to surge from the Delta variant.

[22] Although Suga claimed there is no evidence that the Olympics contributed to a surge in daily cases in Tokyo and other parts of Japan, experts, including the government's chief medical adviser believe the Games undermined official messaging on virus rules and encouraged people to become complacent.

[23] Following the Olympics, speculation rose that several LDP lawmakers, such as former ministers Sanae Takaichi,[24] Seiko Noda,[25] 2020 leadership candidate Fumio Kishida[25] and party policy chief Hakubun Shimomura[26] were preparing to run for the LDP leadership against Suga when his term as party president ends in September, in the lead up to the election.

[24] The defeat of candidate Hachiro Okonogi, who is Suga's associate, in the Yokohama mayoral election on 22 August added pressure on the prime minister and increased speculation about his political future.

[30] The platform covered six areas: constitutionalism, measures to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, reducing economic disparities, transitioning to a decarbonized society, gender equality and government transparency.

[31] Policies in the platform included: As part of the agreement, members of the four parties involved withdrew from running in several of the single-seat constituencies to avoid vote splitting.

If the House of Representatives completes a full four-year term, the election must be held within 30 days before that,[44] unless the Diet is invoked, in session or about to be closed at the time.

[45] With the resignation of Shinzo Abe in 2020 from his position as prime minister due to health issues, speculation rose of the possibility that a snap election would be held before the end of the full term, but this in fact did not happen.

[63] The results were disappointing for Japan's left-wing opposition parties, who had sought to capitalize on the high disapproval ratings of LDP administrations in 2020–2021.

The two largest opposition parties, the CDP and the JCP, both lost seats compared to the outgoing parliament, despite their unified candidate agreement and joint policy platform.

[65] The right-wing populist Nippon Ishin no Kai gained 30 seats, receiving strong support in its home region of Osaka.