<figure id="attachment_395839" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-395839" style="width: 3689px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="490934eb"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/101963e6819ec2da2740d87c01d2bf43.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-395839" class="wp-caption-text">Kōichi Hagiuda (left) and Tamayo Marukawa (&#8217;19), who were branded as backstabbing Diet members</figcaption></figure>
 The October 27 general election for the House of Representatives has already brought about an anomaly.
 If the general election were to be summed up in one word, it would be &#8220;the election to sift out the backstabbing Diet members.
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 Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has ruled out 12 members, including former Education Minister Hirofumi Shimomura, former Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura, and former National Diet Committee Chairman Takeshi Takaki, all of whom had been suspended from party membership, as well as former policy chief Kōichi Hagiuda, who has been suspended from party positions and has yet to explain his actions at a political ethics review panel.
 This angered the former Abe faction.
 Some have stated that they will move to overthrow the government after the election.
 Some even declared that they would &#8220;move to overthrow the government after the election.
<h2> Survey Results &#8220;Favor&#8221; Hagiuda, Who Was Expected to Suffer Heavily</h2>
 Of particular note is Mr. Hagiuda, who was elevated to a key position by the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
 He is running in Tokyo&#8217;s 24th district, centered on Hachioji, and is expected to face off against Yoshio Arita, the official candidate of the Democratic Party of Japan&#8217;s Rikken Democratic Party.
 Pre-war predictions were that Hagiuda, a &#8220;symbol&#8221; of the old Abe faction and a backroom money man, as well as his ties to the old Unification Church, would have a tough fight. &#8230;&#8230;
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 According to the data from several surveys in my possession, Mr. Arita was ahead of Mr. Hagiuda by about 3 points at the beginning of this month, but the gap has been shrinking rapidly, and in the survey conducted from October 11 to 13, just before the public announcement on October 15, Mr. Hagiuda was ahead of Mr. Arita by almost 9 points. Surveys conducted by major newspapers are also beginning to show that Hagiuda has the upper hand.
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Mr. Arita is weak among women in their 30s to 50s."></div>
As for the background to this, a political insider said
 Mr. Hagiuda is not growing, but rather Mr. Arita is falling. Many people have an image of Mr. Arita that is similar to that of the Communist Party. Hachioji is a unique area, and there are some people who avoid the &#8220;color&#8221; of Mr. Arita, who has been pursuing the issue of the former Unification Church. In other words, it was a big mistake to put up a candidate with &#8216;too much personality&#8217; in order to defeat Mr. Hagiuda,&#8221; he said.
 The fatal point is that the candidate is not a woman.
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 The fatal problem is the unpopularity among women.
 While support among men is almost equal, Hagiuda&#8217;s support among women is much higher than Arita&#8217;s. A source involved in the election campaign said
 Women, especially those in their 30s to 50s, are shying away from Mr. Arita. At first, the Rikken had considered putting up another fresh, young candidate, but they went with Mr. Arita. If it had been a younger candidate, I honestly think he would have won. He has a hopelessly poor sense for making a difference in this area.
 He pointed the finger at Mr. Arita.
<h2> Marukawa and Otsuka, the couple who were noticed by Mr. Abe</h2>
 If Mr. Arita loses the race against the LDP, it would be a disaster for the Rikken. Arita&#8217;s return to politics will be difficult for the time being.
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 Akie Abe and Sanae Takaichi also attended Mr. Hagiuda&#8217;s speech in support of his candidacy. For Prime Minister Ishiba, a win would increase his number of seats in the Diet, but he must have mixed feelings. However, some of the latest surveys by certain media outlets are showing an advantage for Mr. Arita. There is no doubt that this is a dead heat, and it is quite possible that things will change in just one more week.
 says a reporter in charge of politics at a national newspaper. However, some local residents are still skeptical.
 Hagiwada or Arita? Two choices from hell.
 Some of the local residents are even saying, &#8220;It&#8217;s a hell of a choice between Hagiuda and Arita.
 The other two districts of interest are Tokyo&#8217;s 7th district, where former TV Asahi announcer Tamayo Marukawa is running, and Saitama&#8217;s 9th district, where her husband, Taku Otsuka, is running.
 Both of these two women have been in the crosshairs of former Prime Minister Abe, and both have been named as &#8220;backstabber&#8221; lawmakers.
 Although both were approved by the party, they are prohibited from running for the same electoral district. In other words, if they fail, they are &#8220;mere mortals.
 In particular, Mr. Marukawa, a &#8220;newcomer&#8221; who switched from the upper house of the Diet, is facing an uphill battle. He is in a close race with Akihiro Matsuo of Rikken, and according to the October 11-13 survey, he trails Matsuo by more than 4 points.
 Her husband, Otsuka, is also in danger of losing the election because of the weakness of his supporters&#8217; association. Until now, the husband and wife have rallied to each other&#8217;s speeches in support of the other, but if they &#8220;combine&#8221; this time, it is inevitable that they will be shouted down as a &#8220;backroom money couple! (LDP insider).
 Akie Abe&#8217;s wife came to support Marukawa, and they even shed tears together, but the audience was somewhat indifferent. A local woman in her 50s said
 What has Mr. Marukawa done?
 and &#8220;What has Mr. Marukawa done?&#8221; She said that there was nothing noteworthy about his life as a Diet member.
 The House of Representatives election is still a very turbulent one. We cannot take our eyes off the candidates who have been branded as &#8220;backstabbing lawmakers&#8221; until October 27, when the election is expected to continue.

 YUTAKA/Afro

 The lower house election will be held on October 27. The LDP, which has been replaced by Prime Minister Ishiba, and the opposition parties, which are aiming for a "regime change," are going head-to-head, but the battle is particularly fierce among the candidates who have been labeled "backstabbing lawmakers. ......

Kōichi Hagiuda, branded as a &#8220;backstabbing legislator,&#8221; in a dead heat with Yoshio Arita of Rikken, and Tamayo Marukawa, who is &#8220;not co-hosting&#8221; with her husband.

Kōichi Hagiuda, branded as a “backstabbing legislator,” in a dead heat with Yoshio Arita of Rikken, and Tamayo Marukawa, who is “not co-hosting” with her husband.

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