(Update 2) Campaigning for Oct. 27 General Election Kicks Off

   Tokyo, Oct. 15 (Jiji Press)--The 12-day campaign period for the Oct. 27 election for Japan's House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of the Diet, kicked off Tuesday, with political reform a major issue following the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's "slush fund" scandal.
   On the day, a total of 1,344 people filed their candidacies for the 465 Lower House seats--1,113 for the 289 constituency seats and 231 exclusively for the 176 proportional representation seats. The previous 2021 race had a total of 1,051 candidates, the lowest under the current electoral system.
   The number of female candidates this time is 314, topping the previous record high of 229, logged in the 2009 election.
   Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said that his LDP and its coalition partner, Komeito, aim to win at least 233 seats together to secure a majority in the Lower House. When the chamber was dissolved on Wednesday for the election, the ruling coalition had a total of 288 seats--256 for the LDP and 32 for Komeito.
   The election will be held just 26 days after the new prime minister took office, the shortest such period in Japan's post-World War II history. Ishiba is believed to have called the snap election to capitalize on the sense of renewal in his new administration.

(2024/10/15-21:05)

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