Political stability at stake as general election campaign begins

key takeaways

• The 27 October general election campaign began on 15 October, with 1,344 candidates vying for 465 seats.
• Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) could be vulnerable to losses, though the size of its losses could be limited by intra-opposition competition and weak turnout.
• The ruling coalition will likely retain a majority, but electoral losses could weaken Ishiba and deepen political instability.