Out of the 44 candidates involved in the Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) political funds scandal, only 10 are currently leading in the polls for the upcoming House of Representatives election. The remaining 34 candidates are facing tight races, with another 10 trailing behind.
The situation is particularly difficult for the 10 candidates who were not endorsed by the party, as they cannot expect to receive sufficient support from the LDP. Among these unendorsed candidates, four are trailing behind Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan candidates: Kentaro Uesugi in Fukushima Constituency No. 3, Kazuyuki Nakane in Saitama Constituency No. 6, Kiyoshi Odawara in Tokyo Constituency No. 21, and Kenichi Hosoda in Niigata Constituency No. 2.
Even veteran politicians such as Hakubun Shimomura, Koichi Hagiuda, Tsuyoshi Takagi, and Hiromi Mitsubayashi find themselves in tight races for their respective constituencies.
However, there are two unendorsed candidates who are currently leading: Yasutoshi Nishimura in Hyogo Constituency No.9 and Katsuei Hirasawa in Tokyo Constituency No.17.
LDP Secretary General Hiroshi Moriyama expressed his regret over the situation during a stump speech on Wednesday: “This is a really tough election… I really regret that this led to distrust in politics.”
it is clear that many of the LDP’s candidates involved in the political funds scandal face an uphill battle as they strive to secure victory in their respective constituencies during this challenging election period.