Voting for Japan's lower house election starts in tightening races

TOKYO -- Voting for Japan's lower house election began on Sunday morning amid public discontent over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)'s slush funds scandal and a rising cost of living that squeezes Japanese households.

With 465 seats up for grabs in the country's 50th House of Representatives election, a total of 1,344 candidates are running, more than the 1,051 in the last such election in 2021.

Of the 465 seats, 289 will go to directly elected lawmakers from single-seat constituencies nationwide, while another 176 winners will come through a proportional representation system that divides the country into 11 constituencies.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who heads the LDP, has set a modest goal of retaining at least 233 seats for the ruling coalition, enough to maintain a majority in the powerful lower chamber of parliament.

While some polls project the longtime ruling LDP and its junior coalition partner Komeito will maintain their majority, other opinion surveys show that they may struggle, as the LDP is facing headwinds over its factional slush funds scandal and may not be able to win even 200 seats, losing its single-party majority.

Since the 2012 election, when the LDP returned to power after being ousted in 2009, it has won a majority in the 465-seat lower house on its own in four consecutive elections.