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Japan saw the official start of its election campaign on Tuesday, signaling the beginning of the race towards the October 27 vote. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, newly appointed to the top office, is steering his ruling party into the contest, aiming to hold on to their parliamentary majority, a key indicator of his political strength.
The streets of Japan have come alive with the buzz of election season as loudspeaker trucks weave through neighborhoods and candidates distribute campaign fliers in preparation for the October 27 vote. The campaign is set against the backdrop of several pressing issues, including rising living costs, growing concerns about regional security, and mounting dissatisfaction with scandals that have shaken Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party.
Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has maintained its dominance in the country’s political sphere for decades, albeit with a revolving door of leadership, illustrating the party’s ability to weather changes while retaining overall control.
Given the anticipated low voter turnout and the fragmented state of the opposition, the ruling party and its coalition ally appear poised for a likely win, as these factors play to their advantage, limiting the challenge they face at the polls.
The Kyodo News poll released this weekend demonstrates that the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), led by Ishiba, is still the most favored political group, with 26.4 percent of voters aligning with them. On the other hand, only 12.4 percent of the electorate plans to vote for the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), highlighting a substantial gap between the two parties.
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Former defence minister and self-confessed security policy “geek” Ishiba, 67, won a ruling party leadership election in September and was approved as premier soon afterwards.
He has called a snap election to shore up his mandate for policies that include plans to “re-create” ageing Japan by revitalising depopulated rural areas.
On the diplomatic front, Ishiba has called for revising the Japan-US security treaty to make it better reflect his country’s sovereignty.
He also backs the creation of a regional military alliance along the lines of NATO to counter China, although he has cautioned it would “not happen overnight”.
Ishiba says his “victory line” for the election would be for the LDP and its junior partner Komeito to maintain a simple majority in parliament’s lower house.
But the LDP will need to convince voters jaded by a slush fund scandal that has swept the party along with questions over its lawmakers’ ties to the Unification Church.
Ishiba has pledged to “ensure Japan’s economy emerges from deflation” and wants to boost incomes through a new stimulus package as well as support for low-income households.