A total of 175 people are currently planning to run in the triennial election for Japan’s House of Councilors, the upper chamber of parliament, that is slated for summer 2022, according to a Jiji Press survey.
In the election, expected to take place on July 10, 125 of the Upper House’s 248 seats will be contested. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida aims to have his ruling coalition maintain its majority to pave the way for a long stay in power.
The ruling coalition needs to win at least 57 seats to maintain a majority of 125 as it has 68 uncontested seats.
Opposition parties are aiming to unify their candidates to better fight Kishida’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party in 32 crucial so-called single-seat prefectural constituencies where one seat each is up for grabs. But their efforts have made little headway.
The LDP plans to field 43 candidates for constituencies and 24 candidates for proportional representation seats.
It has yet to determine candidates for six single-seat constituencies — Aomori, Yamagata, Yamanashi, Nagano, Oita and Okinawa. For multiseat constituencies, the party plans to field two candidates each in Hokkaido, Chiba and Kanagawa.
Komeito, the LDP’s coalition partner, aims to secure wins for all of its candidates — seven in constituencies and seven for proportional representation.
The leading opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan aims to increase its seats from the 23 to be contested in the 2022 election.
The CDP plans to field candidates in all constituencies. So far, it has selected its candidates only for 12 constituencies, including single-seat constituencies in Aomori, Iwate, Niigata, Toyama, Yamanashi, Nagano and Nagasaki, and eight candidates for proportional representation seats.
Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), which made great strides in the general election in October, has set a target of doubling its six seats to be contested. It has selected four candidates in constituencies and seven candidates for proportional representation seats.
The Japanese Communist Party is set to field 13 candidates in constituencies and five candidates for proportional representation seats.
Constituency candidates from the Democratic Party for the People will include three incumbents in Yamagata, Aichi and Oita. The party has endorsed six proportional representation candidates, including from the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, a key supporter.
Reiwa Shinsengumi has endorsed one constituency candidate in Osaka. For the Social Democratic Party, leader Mizuho Fukushima is up for re-election.
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