Kensaku Morita, who before the dissolution of the Lower House was a Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker, is running as an independent in the Tokyo No. 4 constituency in Sunday's election because of what he calls an "unreasonable" decision by the LDP to back a candidate from one of the party's coalition partners.
Morita, 50, an actor-turned-politician, was one of the LDP members who did not receive the formal support of the party in their single-seat constituencies due to the decision to support candidates from the other parties within the ruling bloc — New Komeito and the New Conservative Party.
The LDP is officially supporting Morita's rival, Otohiko Endo, 53, who was a New Komeito lawmaker before the chamber's dissolution. Endo won his seat in the 1996 general election through proportional representation, where voters choose a party rather than a specific candidate.