ISTANBUL Election campaigning officially began Tuesday in Japan for the Feb. 8 polls as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi seeks a fresh mandate, local media reported. More than 1,270 candidates are set to compete for 465 seats in Japan’s lower house in the first election since Takaichi assumed office on Oct. 21, following the end of the 26-year alliance between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito and the formation of a new coalition with the Japan Innovation Party, Kyodo News