Campaigning for the Nov. 9 general election, the first in the 21st century, officially kicked off Tuesday. The focal question is whether power will switch from the three-way coalition led by the Liberal Democratic Party to the enlarged and emboldened Democratic Party of Japan. Put it another way, the election will decide whether Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, the standard bearer of "structural reform," will stay at the helm.
Attention is also riveted on whether a functioning two-party system will take root, with power changing hands alternately between the LDP and the DPJ. The question for smaller parties is whether they can assert their raison d'etre as a "third force" lest they languish in the shadow of the two competing giants.
The upcoming election will also have set a milestone if it injects fresh air into the stuffy political climate that keeps old-fashioned campaign practices alive. In previous polls, many candidates campaigned largely on the strength of their local connections and family pedigrees. A two-party system, however, is predicated on a vigorous contest of beliefs and policies.