TOKYO -- Campaigning for Japan's general election officially began on Tuesday, giving candidates 12 days before voters go to the polls and collectively choose the party or parties that will form the next government on Oct. 27.
Of the 465 lower house seats, 289 will go to directly elected politicians from single-seat constituencies. Another 176 winners will come through a proportional representation system that divides the country into 11 constituencies. A total of 1,344 candidates are running, more than the 1,051 in the last such election in 2021.
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