Politics

Japan begins campaigning for Oct.31 general election

Tokyo, Oct 19 (EFE).- Japan Tuesday began campaigning for the general election at the end of this month with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida seeking another term for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

While Kishida, who took office on Oct.4, is wooing voters for a mandate for his Covid-19 and economic policies, the opposition has banded together to counter the ruling party’s grip on power.

The general elections in the archipelago will be held on Oct.31.

The Japanese will vote for the 456 representatives of the lower house of the Diet (parliament) for a four-year term.

Kishida dissolved the lower house last Thursday and brought the poll forward rather than wait until early November.

Kishida’s predecessor Yoshihide Suga resigned as the country struggled with its worst wave of coronavirus infections.

Race for leadership in the LDP resulted in the election of the new prime minister, Kishida.

The LDP is not enjoying its greatest moment of popularity. However, the party will likely retain power.

Voters have ousted the LDP from power twice since its founding in 1955, most recently from 2009 to 2012 by the opposition coalition, including the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.

A survey by Kyodo News conducted over the weekend found that Kishida has the approval rating for his government hovering around 55 percent.

Just under 30 percent of respondents in the survey said they would vote for the LDP in the proportional representation portion of the general election, and 4.7 percent went with its junior partner Komeito.

Some 9.7 percent said they would choose the CDPJ. Around 40 percent said they were undecided. EFE

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