Tokyo (AFP) – The Japanese began Sunday morning to go to the polls for early parliamentary elections decided by the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who is trying to make this election a referendum for or against its economic policy “Abenomics.”
The 48,000 polling stations opened at 7:00 local time (2200 GMT Saturday) and will close at the latest at 20:00 (1100 GMT), at which time the first fall media estimates.
This is to elect 475 deputies this time, instead of 480 in the previous assembly dissolved on 21 November. These seats are competing 1,191 candidates, 295 are assigned to the first-past one turn and the other 180 on a proportional basis.
Nearly 105 million Japanese are convened in schools, town halls and other places Public to vote, but observers fear a low turnout due to lack of challenge and unfavorable weather in parts of the country, although for the first time for the parliamentary campaign also took place on the Internet.
More than 10 million citizens had, however, already fulfilled their electoral duty before Sunday as part of a special device for early voting for people prevented the same day.
The head of government, who traveled about 14,000 miles across the country to campaign for the past two weeks, said he wanted to ask the public its opinion on the continuation of its policy “Abenomics” supposed to revive the economy.
Since its implementation there two years, this strategy initially yielded positive results (weaker yen, return of moderate inflation and renewed growth), but then lost steam and Japan fell into recession in the third quarter of this year.
The opposition, divided and unprepared for an election that, according to her, had no reason to be, will have good struggling to start the supremacy of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Abe gave heavy favorite.
According to various surveys, it could take more than 300 seats, and the coalition he formed with his centrist ally New Komeito should without difficulty keeping two-thirds of the lower house, unless the LDP wins alone.
Mr. Abe, whose party also controls the majority in the Senate, would then have increased resources to carry out its policy.
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