Overview

• Five candidates pressed for local support over the first weekend of campaigning, with party‑member postcard ballots due Oct. 1 and the party vote set for Oct. 4.
• Hagiuda Koichi declared support for Takaichi Sanae in a blog post, citing her bid to become Japan’s first female prime minister.
• A Kyodo survey of 47 LDP prefectural federation leaders found 20 would accept appointing lawmakers tied to the slush‑fund scandal, versus 12 opposed, and 32 favored stricter curbs on foreign‑linked land purchases with none rejecting tougher rules.
• Human‑mobility data from the Sept. 24 Akihabara rally showed a surge in people in their 40s–50s and roughly a 20% drop in those in their 30s and younger, signaling limited youth engagement.
• On Sept. 27, Kobayashi Takayuki stressed that defense spending is still insufficient during a Wakkanai visit, Hayashi Yoshimasa held an online exchange with young small‑business owners, Koizumi Shinjiro visited a Tokyo post office, and candidates debated party rebuilding and price pressures in the evening.