Ikoma, a small city of about 120,000 people, lies just over the border from Osaka in northern Nara Prefecture. It's known for its bamboo products, especially whisks used in the traditional tea ceremony. A cable car that travels up Mount Ikoma, opened in 1918, is said to be the oldest in Japan.

The population is a mixture of those who have lived and worked in the area for generations and more recent arrivals who commute to Osaka.

For the Oct. 22 Lower House election, Ikoma's voters likely hold the key as to whether a veteran politician who joined Yuriko Koike's Kibo no To (Party of Hope) can beat a candidate from the Liberal Democratic Party.