Sawt Falasteen - Japan election campaigns kick off for Oct 27 vote

Loudspeaker trucks began circulating and candidates handed out fliers ahead of the vote. Key issues include price rises, regional security, and disquiet over scandals in Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party.

The LDP has governed Japan almost uninterrupted for decades, albeit with frequent leadership changes.

Low voter turnout and a divided opposition mean the party and its coalition partner are highly likely to win.

A weekend Kyodo News poll showed that Ishiba's LDP remains the most popular party at 26.4 percent, versus 12.4 percent who intend to vote for the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP).

Former defence minister and self-confessed security policy "geek" Ishiba, 67, won a ruling party leadership election in September and was approved as premier soon afterwards.

He has called a snap election to shore up his mandate for policies that include plans to "re-create" ageing Japan by revitalising depopulated rural areas.

On the diplomatic front, Ishiba has called for revising the Japan-US security treaty to make it better reflect his country's sovereignty.

He also backs the creation of a regional military alliance along the lines of NATO to counter China, although he has cautioned it would "not happen overnight".

Ishiba says his "victory line" for the election would be for the LDP and its junior partner Komeito to maintain a simple majority in parliament's lower house.

But the LDP will need to convince voters jaded by a slush fund scandal that has swept the party along with questions over its lawmakers' ties to the Unification Church.

Ishiba has pledged to "ensure Japan's economy emerges from deflation" and wants to boost incomes through a new stimulus package as well as support for low-income households.

Another thorny issue is the question of whether to allow women to retain their maiden names after marriage, an issue where opposition parties hope to gain liberal support.

The justice ministry says that to the best of its knowledge, Japan is the only nation that requires married couples to choose one of their surnames -- almost always the husbands'.

While the CDP supports allowing married couples to maintain separate surnames, the conservative LDP has been more cautious, citing "traditional family values".

N.AbuHussein--SF-PST