Campaigning kicks off for Japanese local elections
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- 04 Apr 2023
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The official campaign period began Friday for assembly elections in 41 prefectures and 17 major cities, part of unified local polls in the country in April.
Key campaign issues include child-rearing support, soaring prices and support for regional economies.
Voting is set for April 9 for those elections together with gubernatorial polls in nine prefectures and mayoral races in six major cities.
The number of seats up for grabs in the prefectural assembly elections falls by 17 from the previous polls to 2,260. No assembly elections will take place in Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tokyo and Okinawa this time.
A Jiji Press tally as of 1:10 p.m. showed that 3,133 people filed their candidacy, up from the previous local elections. But the final figure is likely to be the second-lowest on record.
Over 20% of the candidates are expected to be chosen uncontested. There are at least 489 female candidates, already a record high.
The candidates include 1,306 from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, 246 from the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, 155 from Nippon Ishin no Kai, 170 from Komeito, the LDP's coalition partner, 188 from the Japanese Communist Party and 46 from the Democratic Party for the People.
Osaka Ishin no Kai, a regional political party, fielded 56 candidates for the Osaka Prefectural Assembly election.
The focus of attention is on whether the LDP will secure a majority of the overall seats for the third consecutive time. Another focus is on whether Osaka Ishin will obtain a majority of seats in both the Osaka prefectural and city assemblies. Read More…
