With several polls indicating that the ruling coalition may win over 300 of the 480 seats in Sunday¡¯s Lower House race, the Liberal Democratic Party is poised to be the big winner ¡ª and Ishin no To (Japan Innovation Party) the main loser.
Ishin no To co-leaders Toru Hashimoto, who also serves as mayor of Osaka, and Kenji Eda, a Lower House representative from the Kanagawa No. 8 district, know they are facing a tough election.
The party only formally came into being in September, after months of difficult negotiations between the two leaders. Hashimoto had previously co-led Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) with Shintaro Ishihara, and Eda had headed Yui no To (Unity Party) after breaking away from Your Party.
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