Campaigning kicked off Tuesday for the Nov. 9 general election, with a total of 1,159 candidates tossing their hats into the ring.

The election for the 480-seat House of Representatives is expected to be primarily a battle between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Japan, the largest opposition force.

It is the first Lower House general election since June 2000 and the first since Koizumi took power in April 2001.