3-way battle set for 70% of Lower House constituencies

October 11, 2017

TOKYO- Three major political forces are set to clash in 208, or over 70 percent, of the total 289 single-seat constituencies in the Japanese House of Representatives election on Oct. 22.

The three are the ruling coalition of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, the conservative alliance of Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike's Party of Hope and Nippon Ishin no Kai, and a liberal camp consisting of the Japanese Communist Party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Social Democratic Party.

The split of the major opposition Democratic Party, which led some members to join the Party of Hope and others to create the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, has polarized opposition forces into the conservative and liberal camps.

That might cause a division among anti-Abe voters.

Japan accepted Lower House election candidacies on Tuesday, marking the start of the official campaign period.

The LDP-led coalition put up candidates in 286 constituencies. Including candidates recommended by the LDP, the coalition covers all constituencies.

The Party of Hope, based in Tokyo, and Nippon Ishin no Kai, headquartered in Osaka, avoid fighting against each other in their respective home turfs.

But their candidates are set to contest in 24 constituencies, mainly in the Kanto region of eastern Japan and the Kansai region of western Japan excluding Tokyo and Osaka.

The opposition camp comprising the JCP, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the SDP unified candidates in 234 constituencies.

The JCP withdrew candidates in 67 constituencies, including the No. 5 constituency of Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, where Yukio Edano, head of the DP splinter party, will seek a seat.

Of the 208 constituencies with candidates of all three forces, 122 see a contest among the ruling coalition, the Party of Hope and the JCP.

The LDP-led coalition, the Party of Hope and Edano's party are pitted against each other in 39 constituencies.

Meanwhile, some leading opposition politicians, such as former DP head Katsuya Okada and Liberal Party leader Ichiro Ozawa, declared independent candidacies.

The number of unaffiliated candidates that joined the race reached 73, up from 45 in the previous Lower House election in 2014. Jiji Press