Staff writer It is election year in Japan again. About half of the seats in the Upper House will be up for grabs in the triennial election in July, while the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election -- often seen as an indicator of voting trends in national polls -- is expected in June.
But as candidates begin preparing for these elections, they may be at a loss as to where to look for solid support. Many of the vote-organizing machines that both conservative and leftwing politicians have depended on for decades are no longer as reliable as they once were.
Shin Sakurai, a veteran Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker, was stunned by his defeat in the Niigata No. 2 constituency in the Lower House election last June 25.