Japan’s main parties compete for seats in new parliamentary elections – World

In their opening campaign speeches for the House of Representatives election, the leaders of Japan’s six main parties all highlighted the issue of “politics and money”, stemming from the political funding scandal involving factions within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

Yoshihiko Noda, chairman of the main opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, devoted more than 90% of his speech to this issue. Similarly, Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the People’s Democratic Party, also devoted most of his speech to discussing the issue of politics and money.

As the House of Representatives elections were officially announced on Tuesday, party leaders delivered their first campaign speeches across Japan. The ruling coalition emphasized its political achievements, while the opposition focused on criticizing the slush funds and addressing the everyday problems that affect people’s lives.

This election is the first major national contest where the issue of political funding for LDP factions is a central issue, and some within the LDP say this will be the most difficult election since the party regained power in 2012.

A Kyodo News poll conducted on Saturday and Sunday found that 65.2 percent of respondents said they would give “consideration” or “some consideration” to the LDP’s slush fund scandal, while 32.2 percent indicate that he would not.

In his first campaign speech for the election, Japanese Prime Minister and LDP Chairman Shigeru Ishiba prominently featured the term “economy,” stating, “We will introduce new economic measures.”

In contrast, opposition party leaders frequently referred to terms such as “money”, “corporations” and “funds of funds”, highlighting their focus on the issue of money and politics.

Noda, in particular, repeatedly emphasized the term “slush fund”, indicating his intention to make it a key issue in this House of Representatives election.

In addition, Noda, along with Tomoko Tamura, leader of the Japanese Communist Party and others, consistently called for a ban on corporate and organizational donations.

Terms such as “tax cuts” and “consumption tax”, which were absent from the speeches of the ruling parties, were regularly used by opposition leaders.

The elections to the House of Representatives, scheduled for October 27, will include a total of 465 seats, 289 in single-member districts and 176 in proportional representation.

The key question will be whether the LDP and Komeito can secure a majority of at least 233 seats in the lower house of Japan’s national legislature. The outcome will significantly affect Ishiba’s ability to manage his administration effectively.

In addition to the simple majority required, there are other crucial seat thresholds: 244 seats are needed for a “stable majority”, essential for the successful approval of budgets and bills; 261 seats are needed for a “stable absolute majority”, which guarantees dominance in all permanent commissions controlling the positions of the presidency; and 310 seats are required for a two-thirds majority in the Chamber of Deputies, allowing the proposed constitutional amendments and the re-approval of bills rejected by the Chamber of Councillors, the upper house.

Before the election was announced, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito held a combined total of 279 seats, while the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan held 98 seats.

Noda, leader of the CDP, aims to position his party as the “first party compared” to the LDP and “break the majority held by the LDP and Komeito.”

On Tuesday, a total of 1,344 people submitted their candidacies. The ruling coalition presents 392 candidates: 342 from the LDP and 50 from Komeito.

In the previous 2021 House of Representatives election, five opposition parties—the CDP, the Japanese Communist Party, the People’s Democratic Party, the Reiwa Shinsengumi, and the Social Democratic Party—formed a coalition. However, this time they were unable to coordinate their candidate nominations, resulting in a total of 567 candidates submitted.

A public opinion poll conducted by The Nikkei in October revealed that the most preferred outcome for the House of Representatives election was for seats to be split evenly between the ruling and opposition parties, with a 52 percent of respondents favoring this option.