OFFICIAL campaigning began across Japan on Tuesday for the 27 October general election as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba seeks a fresh mandate and aims to restore public trust in politics undermined by a slush funds scandal engulfing his ruling party.
During the 12-day campaign, 1,344 candidates will vie for a total of 465 seats in the House of Representatives in the first contest since 2021. The lower chamber was dissolved last week, only eight days after Ishiba took office.
The Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito are aiming to retain a combined majority in the lower house, or at least 233 seats, a relatively low hurdle given that the coalition had 288 seats before the race.
The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan is hoping to realize a rare change of government in a country that has seen uninterrupted LDP rule for most of the postwar era. Its leader Yoshihiko Noda has criticized Ishiba for using the election to deflect public attention from the money scandal.
“We are heading into the election with deep remorse (over the scandal). This is going to be an election to revive Japan. I will create a new Japan,” Ishiba said in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.
Ishiba has faced criticism from opposition leaders who see the 67-year-old premier as having reneged on his promise to spare enough time for parliamentary debate in the recently held extraordinary session without rushing to an election. The opposition had hoped for time to grill the LDP on the scandal.
Kyodo
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