Japan Opposition Parties Clash in 80 Pct of Constituencies

   Tokyo, Oct. 15 (Jiji Press)--Six major Japanese opposition parties failed to unify candidates in 239, or about 80 pct, of the 289 single-seat constituencies for the House of Representatives in the Oct. 27 general election, as candidacy filing closed at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
   Only 47 constituencies, or about 16 pct, have one candidate each from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito coalition and from among the opposition parties, including the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) and the Japanese Communist Party.
   This situation may help the ruling bloc as the votes of those critical of the LDP-led government, especially in light of the LDP's "slush fund" scandal, could be dispersed among opposition candidates.
   In the previous general election in 2021, five opposition parties, mainly the CDP and the JCP, unified candidates in 213 constituencies, and 142 constituencies saw a de facto one-on-one battle between the ruling and opposition camps.
   This time, however, the JCP actively fielded candidates in response to the CDP's increasingly conservative stance, limiting cooperation between the two parties to only a few areas.

(2024/10/15-18:42)

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