Official campaign for Japan's Lower House election kicks off

TOKYO, Jan 27 (KUNA) -- The official 12-day campaign for Japan's Lower House election kicked off Tuesday, as political parties began appealing to voters to assess Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's fiscal and policy agenda.
As of 11 a.m. local time, more than 1,200 candidates were preparing to file for the 465 seats, including 289 contested in single-seat constituencies and 176 allocated through proportional representation.
The vote marks the first parliamentary election since 64-year-old Takaichi became Japan's first female prime minister in October, after she dissolved the Lower House on January 23 to seek a fresh mandate.
Attention is focused on whether the ruling coalition led by Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party can retain its majority in the powerful Lower House.
In her first campaign speech in Tokyo, Takaichi pledged to strengthen Japan's diplomatic influence, defense capabilities, economic performance, technological capacity, and human resources through new legislation and budgetary measures.
The prime minister called on voters to place their trust in her leadership, reiterating her pledge to resign if the ruling coalition fails to secure a parliamentary majority in the election. (end) mk.ahm