Off the wire
• U.S. invites Brazil's Rousseff for official visit  • Tokyo shares sharply plunge by break  • Feature: Shaolin's first temple outside of China to be built in Australia  • Pilot locked out of cockpit before Germanwings crash: report  • 1st LD: U.S. offers support to military action against Yemen' s rebels  • Australia hold Germany to 2-2 in soccer friendly  • German opera company mourns famous singer who dies in plane crash  • 1st LD-Writethru: Yuan strengthens after Armenia currency swap deal  • S.Korea's inflation expectation falls to record low  • 1st LD Writethru: U.S. House passes GOP budget for sharp spending cuts  
You are here: 　 Home

Simultaneous campaigning for local polls kicks off across Japan

Xinhua, March 26, 2015 Adjust font size:

Campaigning started across Japan on Thursday ahead of local elections in April, with ruling and opposition parties going head-to-head for nearly 1,000 polls to simultaneously choose governors, mayors and assembly members.

Such elections are held every four years and Thursday saw campaigning for governors kick off in 10 prefectures across Japan, with the subsequent voting scheduled for April 12.

In Hokkaido and Oita prefectures, the main Liberal Democratic Party and the main Opposition Party are vying for the poll, whereas in Hokkaido current Governor Harumi Takahashi, who is backed by the LDP ruling bloc, is campaigning for a fourth term, but will be challenged by opposition-backed Noriyuki Sato, a former TV personality.

April 12 will see voting take place for mayors in five cities across Japan and for assembly members in 60 major cities and prefectures. The second round of voting for 900 elections is scheduled for April 26.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition will be looking to expand its grip on power through the simultaneous elections, but has faced a tough time at local levels with the latest LDP-backed gubernatorial elections not going in Abe's favor. Endi