Official campaigning for the April 13 local assembly elections got under way Friday.
A total of 3,854 candidates are vying for assembly seats in 44 prefectures while 1,159 candidates are contesting municipal assembly elections in 12 major cities.
The elections involve assemblies in all of the nation's 47 prefectures -- other than Tokyo, Ibaraki and Okinawa -- as well as the 13 major cities, with the exception of Kitakyushu.