Official campaigning for the Dec. 14 Lower House election kicked off Tuesday, with 1,191 candidates across the country angling for one of the chamber's 475 seats.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dissolved the chamber on Nov. 21, saying he needs voters to endorse his decision to postpone hiking the consumption tax rate to 10 percent.
But the focus of debate has already shifted to other economic issues, particularly the success or failure of the prime minister's "Abenomics" policies — super-aggressive monetary easing, more fiscal spending and structural reforms to raise Japan's long-term growth potential.