Staff writer

KOBE -- Kobe voters will cast their ballots April 11 for a new assembly. All 72 seats are up for grabs in what local politicians, activists and the media predict will be a very contentious election, particularly over the city's financial deficit and proposed airport.

In the last election, held just two months after the Great Hanshin Earthquake in January 1995, anger over the city's slow response to the needs of quake survivors led to election victories for several independents.