Exit polls indicate Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling coalition is on track for a comfortable victory in Sunday’s general election.
Japanese media predicts Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition winning a majority, possibly even retaining the two-thirds “super majority” it held in parliament’s lower house before Abe dissolved the chamber in September.
A victory in the snap election will likely ensure Abe receives another three-year term as head of the LDP coalition next year, making him Japan’s longest serving leader.
Seeking to take advantage of rising public support for his hardline stance against the North Korean nuclear threat, Abe recently dissolved the lower house of parliament to call for a “snap” election this month, rather than wait for the legislative term to end in December, 2018.
But the Japanese public remains divided over Abe’s proposal to allow the military more latitude to counter potential threats from countries like North Korea and China, and to support allies like the United States.
President Trump’s threatening rhetoric to totally destroy North Korea if attacked has heightened concerns for Abe opponents, who argue that loosening restrictions on the use of force will entangle Japan in U.S.-led conflicts.
Millions of Japanese voters braved crushing rain and winds to vote as Typhoon Lan is set to make landfall.
Two people have been reported dead and tens of thousands ordered to evacuate as the storm barreled toward Japan’s main island. | voanews
