Assembly election campaigns begin in Japanese prefectures, major cities

March 29, 2019

Tokyo--Election campaigns began in 41 prefectures and 17 ordinance-designated major cities in Japan on Friday to select assembly members.

Major campaign issues include ways to address declining populations and revitalize local economies. The focus of attention is whether the ruling Liberal Democratic Party will maintain its majority.

Voting is set for April 7 as part of the first leg of unified local elections, considered a test of voter sentiment before this summer's election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament.

As of 1:20 p.m. (4:20 a.m. GMT), 3,057 people, including 389 women, filed their candidacies for a total of 2,277 seats in the prefectural assembly races, according to a Jiji Press tally. The final number of candidates is expected to hit a record low.

The proportion of female candidates is expected to surpass the current record of 11.6 pct. The share of candidates winning uncontested is also likely to hit a record high. Of the country's 47 prefectures, no assembly election will take place in Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tokyo and Okinawa this time.

The first leg also includes elections to select 11 prefectural governors and the mayors of six ordinance-designated cities.

The candidates in the prefectural assembly races include 1,302 from the LDP, 177 from the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, 113 from the Democratic Party for the People, 166 from Komeito, 243 from the Japanese Communist Party, 28 from Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), one from the Liberal Party, four from the Party of Hope, 25 from the Social

Democratic Party and 898 independents.

In the election for the 88-seat Osaka prefectural assembly, Osaka Ishin no Kai, a regional party, fielded 55 candidate, seeking voter support for its plan to reorganize the city of Osaka.

In the assembly elections in the ordinance-designated cities, 1,394 people filed their candidacies for a total of 1,012 seats. In the country's 20 ordinance-designated cities, no assembly election will be held in Sendai, Shizuoka and Kitakyushu this time. Jiji Press