Campaigning for the Feb. 8 Lower House election kicked off Tuesday, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi facing off against a transformed opposition as she seeks a mandate from voters.
The election comes amid a dramatic shift in the political landscape.
Takaichi’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), running without backing from Komeito, its former coalition partner of 26 years, or the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), its new ally, is facing off against the Centrist Reform Alliance (CRA), a new “centrist” party formed by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) and Komeito.