Campaigning begins for Tokyo assembly vote, ahead of upper house race

Official campaigning for the Tokyo metropolitan assembly election kicked off Friday, drawing attention as a prelude to this summer's House of Councillors race, with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's popularity remaining sluggish.As no party holds a majority in the 127-member assembly, all eyes are on whether Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party can retain its seats, with approval ratings for his Cabinet sometimes dipping below 30 percent, widely viewed as the "danger level."This year marks a rare convergence of the metropolitan assembly vote, which takes place every four years, and the upper hou…READ FULL ARTICLE