Official campaigning kicked off Friday for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, an event regarded as the prelude to a Lower House election to be held by this fall.
The main focus of the July 4 election is whether the Liberal Democratic Party and the Komeito party — which form the ruling coalition in parliament — will prevail over Tomin First no Kai, or Tokyoites First party, founded by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike.
Major issues for the nine-day race include parties’ responses to the coronavirus pandemic and how to stage the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
The LDP and Komeito, the second and third largest parties in the capital’s assembly, are vowing to hold safe and secure games. Tomin First — the largest force, holding 46 of the chamber’s 127 seats — calls for the hosting of the event without spectators.
The Japanese Communist Party demands that the Tokyo Games be canceled, while the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan is pushing for another postponement or cancellation.
The LDP aims to bounce back from the historic loss in the last election in 2017, in which it captured only 23 seats, down from 57 before the poll.
The defeat came as Komeito had cooperated with Tomin First, a regional party for which Koike currently serves as a special adviser, in the election.
But this time, Komeito is teaming up with its old ally LDP, given the need to prevail in the upcoming House of Representatives election.
About 270 candidates will vie for the Tokyo assembly poll, according to a Kyodo News tally, with 60 from the LDP, followed by 47 from Tomin First.
The JCP and the CDP field 31 and 28 candidates, respectively, followed by Komeito with 23, among others.
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