Election campaigning begins
Political party chiefs debate in Tokyo
TOKYO: Campaigning for the Oct 31 general election will kick off today, with about 1,040 candidates expected to vie for 465 seats in the House of Representatives, according to a Kyodo News tally.
Heads of major political parties began a debate yesterday afternoon in Tokyo with voters likely to focus on their response to the coronavirus pandemic, including how they would help the battered domestic economy return to a growth path.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, whose ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has held a near-monopoly on power for the past six decades, is expected to reiterate his plan to realise a positive cycle of economic growth and redistribution of wealth.
Yukio Edano, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), is expected to say that Mr Kishida, who has already backpedaled on a plan to review the rate of capital gains tax for a possible increase, is unlikely to succeed in achieving redistribution.
Other leaders participating in the debate include Natsuo Yamaguchi of Komeito, the LDP’s junior coalition ally, Kazuo Shii of the Japanese Communist Party, Yuichiro Tamaki of the Democratic Party for the People, and Ichiro Matsui of the Japan Innovation Party.
The leaders already held an online debate session on Sunday, during which Mr Kishida said he still intends to double incomes when challenged about the pledge to do so that he made during the LDP leadership race late last month.
The last lower house election was held in October 2017, when Shinzo Abe was prime minister. Mr Kishida will make his first stump speech of the campaign in Fukushima Prefecture, while Mr Edano will do so in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture.
Mr Abe stepped down for health reasons in September last year and was succeeded by his chief Cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, who was forced to quit last month amid mounting criticism of his government’s coronavirus response.
Apparently taking to heart the public’s discontent with Mr Suga’s communication skills, Mr Kishida has put an emphasis on listening to people’s voices and exchanged views yesterday morning with Tokyo restaurant operators hit by the pandemic.
“I would like to create an environment in which (those in the restaurant industry) can work with hope,” he told reporters after the meeting. “While trying to ensure safety steps, we will aim to resume socioeconomic activities at a level close to non-crisis times.”
Even after a state of emergency over the pandemic was fully lifted in Japan on Oct 1, many dining establishments still face restrictions in their operating hours.
The LDP and Komeito currently hold 305 of the 465 seats in the lower house. They are seeking to win at least 233 seats this time.
A Kyodo News survey conducted over the weekend showed the LDP leads in popular support, with 29.6% of respondents saying they will cast ballots for it in the proportional representation section of the election, followed by 9.7% backing the CDPJ.
But 39.4% said they still do not know for which party they will vote. Komeito was supported by 4.7%.
The LDP has only been ousted from power twice since the party’s founding in 1955.
The second time, from 2009 to 2012, was by the forerunner to the CDPJ, the Democratic Party of Japan.