Election to test Ishiba’s ability to build a strong political base

The Oct. 27 general election — the first nationwide vote since a slush funds scandal was uncovered within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party — comes as an early test of the leadership of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who is already grappling with a fragile party support base and public skepticism.

Following in the steps of his predecessors, Ishiba chose to launch the party’s campaign in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, one of the areas hit hardest by the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011 and its aftermath.

”Without the reconstruction of Fukushima, there can be no recovery for the Tohoku region; without the recovery of Tohoku, there can be no revival of Japan,” Ishiba said, offering his apologies for the slush funds scandal. “I’m here to bet on the birth of a new Japan, together with the Noto region.”