Candidates for Japan's general election on November 9 will start campaigning nationwide with the official announcement Tuesday.

The campaign will likely be a battle between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the biggest opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).

The upcoming election of the 480-seat House of Representatives is the first occasion for voters to cast their ballots since June 2000 and also the first election since Koizumi took power in April 2001.

Voters will be given a chance to render their judgment on the Koizumi administration's structural reform policies, economic stimulus measures, pension reform plans and Japan's assistance for Iraq's reconstruction effort, among other issues.

According to Kyodo News, the DPJ, under the leadership of Naoto Kan, is hoping to put up a good fight following its merger last month with the opposition Liberal Party.

Some attention may also be focused on the issue of rejuvenating the ranks of LDP lawmakers now that the party has barred those politicians aged over 73 from being placed on its list of candidates for electoral blocs under the proportional representation system.

The heads of political parties will give speeches in Tokyo, Fukuoka, Yokohama, Okinawa and other places to kick off the 12-daycampaigning period, right after their members start filing their candidacies.

As of Monday, the total number of candidates stood at just over 1,160.

Of the total, just over 1,000 candidates will be vying for 300 single-seat constituencies, and will register their candidacies with the relevant prefectural election management committee.

The remaining 180 seats will be allocated for 11 proportional representation blocs nationwide.

The LDP, the DPJ, the New Komeito Party, the Japanese Communist Party, and the Social Democratic Party are preparing to contest the proportional representation blocs. They will be filing their lists of candidates with the Central Election Management Council.

Unlike in single-seat constituencies, voters will cast their ballots for parties under the proportional representation system. Candidates on each party's list will be allocated seats according to the proportion of votes the party receives in each electoral bloc.

(Xinhua News Agency October 28, 2003)