703 People Preparing to Run in Japan's Lower House Election

Tokyo, Jan. 10 (Jiji Press)--A total of 703 people are currently preparing to run in the next election for the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan's parliament, a Jiji Press survey showed Saturday.

Each party will rush to field more candidates in response to a view that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi may dissolve the all-important lower chamber at the beginning of the ordinary Diet session to be convened on Jan. 23.

The Lower House has 465 seats in total, of which 289 are allocated to single-seat constituencies and 176 are assigned under the proportional representation system.

As of Saturday, 658 people were planning to run in single-seat constituencies and 45 were preparing to seek seats under the proportional representation system.

Lower House members will reach the midpoint of their four-year terms in October this year.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]