Overview

• Five candidates debated at the Japan Press Club ahead of the Oct. 4 vote, with several saying a consumption‑tax cut would not be excluded from interparty talks.
• Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi backed creating a sub‑capital to safeguard core government functions in crises and said a working group will discuss a benefit‑linked tax credit.
• Multiple contenders expressed openness to broadening coalition arrangements if that helps enact their policy agendas under a small governing bloc.
• Rivals concentrated questions on Shinjiro Koizumi during the debate, and he responded cautiously, often referring to prepared materials.
• Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said his WWII 80th‑anniversary remarks will be a personal message, while regional tensions featured in the backdrop with South Korea estimating North Korea holds up to two tonnes of weapons‑grade HEU and Xi Jinping attending Xinjiang’s 70th anniversary ceremony.