TOKYO, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Campaigning began Tuesday for Japan's Sept. 11 legislative election, which could cost Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi his job if his party loses its majority.
At least 1,130 candidates are running for the 300 seats in single-seat constituencies and 180 seats for proportional representation blocs in the legislature's Lower House, the Asahi Shimbun reported Tuesday.
The election is a fierce battle between Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party and the main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan.
Koizumi has declared he will step down if the ruling coalition -- the LDP and its junior partner, the New Komeito Party -- fails to secure a majority of 241 seats. Democratic Party leader Katsuya Okada has also said he would resign as party chief if his party does not win a majority.
Koizumi dissolved the Lower House and called the snap election earlier this month after the Upper House of the Diet voted down bills to privatize the mammoth postal services.
In addition to the postal privatization issue, other topics in the election include pension reform; fiscal reconstruction; foreign relations, particularly with China and South Korea; and measures to cope with the declining birthrate and aging population, the newspaper reported.
