As of Wednesday, 870 people, including 127 women, were planning to file their candidacies for the next House of Representatives election, which basically must be held by September, according to a Kyodo News tally.
Of the total, 800 candidates are planning to run in 300 single-seat constituencies, with head-to-head competition between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Japan, the main opposition force, anticipated in 257 of these districts, the survey showed.
The DPJ-led opposition camp, which has controlled the House of Councilors since the chamber's July 2007 election, will be seeking to overthrow the LDP-New Komeito ruling bloc in the general election.