Election campaigning begins in Japan for Feb. 8 polls

Election campaigning officially began Tuesday in Japan for the Feb. 8 polls as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi seeks a fresh mandate, local media reported.

More than 1,270 candidates are set to compete for 465 seats in Japan's lower house in the first election since Takaichi assumed office on Oct. 21, following the end of the 26-year alliance between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito and the formation of a new coalition with the Japan Innovation Party, Kyodo News Agency reported.

On Friday, Takaichi dissolved the lower house of parliament, paving the way for a snap general election, marking the first dissolution at the start of a regular session in 60 years.

Takaichi, 64, became Japan's 104th prime minister last October, breaking with decades of male-dominated leadership in the LDP.

A party or coalition needs at least 233 seats in the lower house of Japan's bicameral parliament to elect a prime minister.

Japan's opposition has regrouped ahead of the election, with the Constitutional Democratic Party and Komeito joining forces to form the Centrist Reform Alliance, now the largest challenger to the ruling bloc.

The LDP, which has governed Japan almost continuously since 1955, suffered a heavy defeat in the 2024 general election, losing its lower house majority for the first time since 2009. The setback was followed by another blow last July, when the party lost its majority in the upper house.

The campaign is dominated by economic pressures, as both government and opposition debate suspending or abolishing the food consumption tax amid stubborn inflation and concerns over fiscal sustainability.

Takaichi's agenda, ranging from fiscal policy and diplomacy with China and the US to social reforms such as optional separate surnames for married couples, is also under scrutiny.

Under Japan's electoral system, voters cast two votes: one for a candidate in their single-member district and another for a political party under proportional representation. The election covers 289 constituencies, while the remaining 176 seats are allocated across 11 proportional representation blocs.