TOKYO, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike's newly-formed Kibou no To (Party of Hope) on Tuesday unveiled its first contingent of candidates to run in the Oct. 22 lower house election.
The Party of Hope unveiled 191 candidates who will run in single-seat electoral districts in the 465-seat lower house.
Koike had previously said she would be fielding at least 233 candidates in the general election in a bid to wrestle power away from the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
While lower house lawmaker Masaru Wakasa stated Tuesday on unveiling the list that the number of candidates would likely swell to more than 233, Koike put an end to any speculation that she herself might run in the general election.
"I'm 100 percent not running in the election," she told reporters.
Rumors had been swirling that she was planning to step down as Tokyo governor and make a return to national politics.
Koike is a seasoned politician having served as a lower house member between 1993 and 2016, before she resigned to run in the gubernatorial election, which she won.
She previously held the defense minister portfolio in the Cabinet of Abe, but resigned in August 2007 after just 54 days in office.
The candidate list unveiled Tuesday, according to Wakasa, included 109 members from the main opposition Democratic Party, which has essentially disbanded.
"We have come together as the Kibou no To, and although we have various different origins, we must band together to change the current state of national politics and fight in this election," Wakasa was quoted as saying.
The party also released a list of requirements that candidates wishing to run on its ticket must meet, including pledging to support the party's stance on amending the constitution and freezing a planned consumption tax hike.
As of Tuesday evening, political observers here said the election contest is shaping up to be a race between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior Komeito coalition ally, the Party of Hope, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Japanese Communist Party.
Earlier Tuesday, six former members of the moribund main opposition Democratic Party submitted to the internal affairs ministry an application to officially form a new political party.
The party will be called the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.
Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano will act as head of the party. He said that his new party's policies differ from Koike's and would accept Democrats that uphold the party's original liberal principals.
Koike had initially said that some Democrats would not be allowed to join her party if they did not uphold the party's values, particularly those relating to the thorny issue of constitutional amendment and others pertaining to issues of security.
Former Health and Welfare Minister Akira Nagatsuma, who submitted the documents to election officials Tuesday, said the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan will field candidates across Japan.
He also said the party would coordinate its policies with a civic group called the Civil Alliance for Peace and Constitution.
He added that his group will be looking for new ways to bolster ties with other opposition parties, going forward.
Campaigning for the lower house election officially begins on Oct. 10.
