Liberal Democratic Party and the Komeito will "directly clash" in 85 small electoral districts

In the upcoming House of Representatives election, the main parties in Japan have basically decided not to coordinate candidates. On one hand, the sudden dissolution of the House of Representatives made relevant negotiations difficult to proceed; on the other hand, all parties are actively promoting candidates in small electoral districts to win proportional representation votes. The situation of multiple candidates running in the same district may further accelerate the trend of multi-party politics in Japan.

The ruling and opposition parties have made no progress in candidate unification coordination

"Only by integrating the opposition candidates as much as possible can we counter the strong Liberal Democratic Party."

On the 23rd, the leader of the Center Reform United Party, Hideki Yokota, emphasized the importance of candidate coordination.

However, the efforts of the opposition parties to unify candidates have yielded little result, with only the National Democratic Party's prefectural federation in Shimane Prefecture determining to support the candidate of the Center Reform United Party, without any sign of expansion. According to a survey by Yomiuri News at 8:00 PM on the 23rd, among the five opposition parties - the Center Reform United Party, the National Democratic Party, the Shinto Party, the Communist Party, and the Reiwa Shinsengumi - it is expected that 225 electoral districts will see competition among multiple parties' candidates.

In the 2024 previous House of Representatives election, Yokota himself had separately met with the leaders of the Japanese Restoration Party, the National Democratic Party, and the Communist Party, urging the promotion of candidate coordination. This time, he did not take similar actions, partly because he was fully focused on establishing a new party, and partly because the Restoration Party has turned towards the ruling party, significantly narrowing the space for candidate coordination.

The leader of the National Democratic Party, Yukihiro Tamaki, said on the 23rd, "There are neither instructions nor plans to cooperate with other parties," clearly expressing his position of not cooperating with candidate coordination. Previously influenced by the joint camp's demands, the National Democratic Party had always been cautious toward the Constitutional Democratic Party, but now the party's officials say, "We will not be bound by the new party," indicating a clear shift in stance.

The Shinto Party did not coordinate candidates with other parties during the summer's upper house election last year, and this time also plans to actively promote candidates. It has already confirmed over 170 nominations and will continue to increase. The Japanese Communist Party has taken a firm stance of not avoiding a showdown with the Center Reform United Party, having announced more than 150 candidates in small electoral districts, which is also related to the Center Reform United Party's pragmatic approach to security laws and other issues.

Experts believe that each party intends to raise its vote count in proportional representation elections. A member of the Center Reform United Party also frankly stated, "The opposition's votes being scattered might ultimately benefit the ruling party."

At the same time, the ruling party camp will also face an unusual situation, and it is expected that there will be confrontations in 85 small electoral districts, with tension prevailing within the ruling party. The co-leader of the Restoration Party, Fumihiko Fujita, revealed on the 22nd, "We have communicated with the Liberal Democratic Party, hoping that (Prime Minister Hayashi) will try not to enter our campaign areas," revealing vigilance against the prime minister who maintains high popularity.

The chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party's Osaka Prefectural Federation, Rui Matsukawa, had already submitted a request to the party headquarters on the 20th, hoping that the prime minister and party leaders would not support the candidates of the Restoration Party. Some Liberal Democratic Party officials privately said, "The prime minister probably won't be able to go to Osaka this time."

The next House of Representatives election will be held on February 8, with results announced on the same day.

Original: toutiao.com/article/1855168484948298/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.