Japanese vote in elections for upper house of parliament
People in Japan are heading to the polling stations to cast their ballots in parliamentary elections, with the ruling coalition expected to secure a comfortable victory.
Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. local time on Sunday (2200 GMT Saturday) and will close at 8 p.m. (1100 GMT Sunday). Official results will reportedly be announced shortly after the polls close.
The elections will determine half of the 242 seats of the parliament’s upper house. An election is held for half of the upper house seats every three years and lawmakers serve a six-year term each.
The vote will not affect the position of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has been in power since 2012 and has been leading a coalition government. The coalition is comprised of his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito Party.
A general election will be held in Japan in 2018 and the more powerful lower house will select the next premier.
According to media surveys, Abe’s LDP would win a majority on its own. Surveys also suggest that the ruling coalition and a number of conservatives from smaller parties would gain two-thirds of the seats or 162 seats to enable Abe to press ahead with his planned reforms, including certain constitutional reforms.
Abe has also described the elections as a referendum on his “Abenomics,” a colloquial term used to refer to his proposed economic policies.
Abe’s coalition is contesting against the main opposition Democratic Party. The opposition party has linked up with three smaller parties, including the Japanese Communist Party, in order to block the constitutional reforms.
In March, certain reforms to the constitution took effect, allowing Japan’s military forces to participate in foreign operations in order to protect allies such as the United States even if there was no direct threat to Tokyo.
Abe has claimed that the reforms are necessary to meet new challenges in the region.
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