The governing coalition in Japan is on track to maintain power, although everything indicates that it will lose seats in Parliament, according to the first press forecasts after the polls closed in the general elections this Sunday (31).
Public broadcaster NHK reported that the Liberal Democratic Party (PLD) and its coalition partner Komeito would win between 239 and 288 of the 465 seats in the lower house, less than the 305 they won in the last election.
With these elections, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hopes to win over a pandemic-weary public with spending promises, while long-running conservatives seek a fresh start.
Kishida became LDP leader a month ago, after Yoshihide Suga resigned after just a year, in part because of public discontent with his response to the covid-19 crisis.
After a record wave of infections that forced the Tokyo Olympics to be held behind closed doors, cases plummeted and most restrictions were lifted.
Kishida, 64, has pledged to create a new stimulus package worth tens of trillions of yen to contain the pandemic’s impact on the world’s third-largest economy.
He also outlined plans to distribute wealth more fairly under the so-called “new capitalism”, although the details so far remain vague.
Across Japan, 1,051 candidates competed.
Over the past few decades, votes against the PLD have been split between several major opposition parties, but this time five rival parties have decided to cooperate in an attempt to lessen its dominance.
Kishida had approval ratings of around 50%, the lowest in two decades for a new government in Japan.
He set a comfortable goal of winning 233 of the 465 seats in the Lower House, given his coalition.
Poor performance could, however, lead to losses in voting for the Upper House next summer, risking a return to Japan’s historic “revolving door” of prime ministers, analysts warn.
In addition to vowing to fight the pandemic and work to boost the middle class, the LDP has indicated it will aim to increase defense spending to counter threats from China and North Korea.
Meanwhile, some opposition parties have emphasized their support for social issues that Kishida has so far distanced himself from, such as same-sex marriage and allowing couples to have different last names.
See too
+ How podcasts can help Brazilians’ financial education
+ Mystery: woman discovers that she is not the biological mother of her own children
+ Lemon-squeezing trick becomes a craze on social media
+ Chef playmate creates aphrodisiac recipe for Orgasm Day
+ Mercedes-Benz Sprinter wins motorhome version
+ Anorexia, an eating disorder that can lead to death
+ US agency warns: never wash raw chicken meat
+ Yasmin Brunet breaks the silence
+ Shark is captured in MA with the remains of youngsters missing in the stomach
+ See how much it costs to eat at the MasterChef judges’ restaurants
+ Auction of cars and motorcycles from Kombi to Nissan Frontier 0km
#Governing #coalition #close #maintaining #majority #legislatures #Japan #ISTOÉ #MONEY