Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio kishidaThe governing coalition is expected to hold a majority in Sunday’s parliamentary election, but will lose some seats to its weeks-old government battling a coronavirus-battered economy and regional security challenges, according to exit polls.
Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition ally Komito together were expected to win between 239 and 288 seats in the 465-member lower house, which was more powerful. JapanPublic broadcaster NHK’s exit polls showed that the two-chamber Diet.
According to estimates, the LDP alone was expected to win 212–253 seats, with Komito getting 27–35 seats.
Their combined seats would exceed a parliamentary majority of 233 – a loss from the previously 305 seats.
Kishida, 64, was elected prime minister on 4 October after winning a leadership race in his ruling party, and dissolved the lower house just 10 days after taking office. The party’s conservative leaders saw him as a secure successor to the status quo. yoshihide suga and his influential predecessors Shinzo Abe.
The exit polls were more or less in line with the media’s estimates. Whether Kishida’s party alone could maintain a majority, and how many seats it would lose from 276 before the election, was still unclear.
The official results are expected by early Monday.
Kishida’s immediate task is to rally support for a party weakened by Suga’s perceived high-end approach to pandemic measures and his insistence on holding the Tokyo Summer Olympics despite widespread protests due to a high number of coronavirus cases, which then dropped rapidly.
Kishida repeatedly emphasized his determination to listen to the people and address criticism that the nine-year Abe-Suga leadership promoted corruption, subjugated bureaucrats and stifled opposing opinion.
The campaign is largely focused on COVID-19 response measures and reviving the economy.
While the ruling party emphasized the importance of having a strong military amid concerns over China’s growing influence and North Korea’s missile and nuclear threat, opposition parties focused on issues of diversity and emphasized gender equality.
Opposition leaders complain that recent LDP governments have widened the gap between rich and poor, have not supported the economy during the pandemic, and stifled gender equality and diversity initiatives.
Japan is ranked 120th this year in the World Economic Forum’s gender gap ranking of 156 countries.
After a brief rule by Japan’s now-defunct centre-left Democratic Party in 2009–2012, the opposition has long struggled to win enough votes to form a government, as they were able to present a grand vision for the country. are not.
On the economy, Kishida has emphasized growth by raising income, while opposition groups focus more on redistributing wealth and calling for cash payments to low-income families affected by the pandemic.
In his final speech in Tokyo on Saturday, Kishida promised to promote development and “distribute its fruits” to people in the form of income.
“It’s up to you to decide who can do that responsibly.”
The LDP opposes legislation guaranteeing equality for sexual minorities and allowing a different surname for married couples.
Despite a 2018 law promoting gender equality in elections, only 17 percent of the 1,051 candidates are women, which is toothless because there are no penalties. Women’s share in parliament is about 10 percent, a situation gender rights experts call a “democracy without women.”
Voters, including young couples with young children, began arriving at polling stations in downtown Tokyo early in the morning.
Shinji Asada, 44, said he likened COVID-19 measures to electing a candidate hoping to change leadership, as he felt the ruling party lacked explanation and transparency on its pandemic measures.
He said that despite Kishida’s promise to be more aware of the voices of the people, “I thought nothing would change after seeing his cabinet (under him),” whose positions went largely to party factions. who voted for him.
A 50 year old part time worker, kana butcher, said he voted for someone he thought would “work to the bone” for a better future.
Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition ally Komito together were expected to win between 239 and 288 seats in the 465-member lower house, which was more powerful. JapanPublic broadcaster NHK’s exit polls showed that the two-chamber Diet.
According to estimates, the LDP alone was expected to win 212–253 seats, with Komito getting 27–35 seats.
Their combined seats would exceed a parliamentary majority of 233 – a loss from the previously 305 seats.
Kishida, 64, was elected prime minister on 4 October after winning a leadership race in his ruling party, and dissolved the lower house just 10 days after taking office. The party’s conservative leaders saw him as a secure successor to the status quo. yoshihide suga and his influential predecessors Shinzo Abe.
The exit polls were more or less in line with the media’s estimates. Whether Kishida’s party alone could maintain a majority, and how many seats it would lose from 276 before the election, was still unclear.
The official results are expected by early Monday.
Kishida’s immediate task is to rally support for a party weakened by Suga’s perceived high-end approach to pandemic measures and his insistence on holding the Tokyo Summer Olympics despite widespread protests due to a high number of coronavirus cases, which then dropped rapidly.
Kishida repeatedly emphasized his determination to listen to the people and address criticism that the nine-year Abe-Suga leadership promoted corruption, subjugated bureaucrats and stifled opposing opinion.
The campaign is largely focused on COVID-19 response measures and reviving the economy.
While the ruling party emphasized the importance of having a strong military amid concerns over China’s growing influence and North Korea’s missile and nuclear threat, opposition parties focused on issues of diversity and emphasized gender equality.
Opposition leaders complain that recent LDP governments have widened the gap between rich and poor, have not supported the economy during the pandemic, and stifled gender equality and diversity initiatives.
Japan is ranked 120th this year in the World Economic Forum’s gender gap ranking of 156 countries.
After a brief rule by Japan’s now-defunct centre-left Democratic Party in 2009–2012, the opposition has long struggled to win enough votes to form a government, as they were able to present a grand vision for the country. are not.
On the economy, Kishida has emphasized growth by raising income, while opposition groups focus more on redistributing wealth and calling for cash payments to low-income families affected by the pandemic.
In his final speech in Tokyo on Saturday, Kishida promised to promote development and “distribute its fruits” to people in the form of income.
“It’s up to you to decide who can do that responsibly.”
The LDP opposes legislation guaranteeing equality for sexual minorities and allowing a different surname for married couples.
Despite a 2018 law promoting gender equality in elections, only 17 percent of the 1,051 candidates are women, which is toothless because there are no penalties. Women’s share in parliament is about 10 percent, a situation gender rights experts call a “democracy without women.”
Voters, including young couples with young children, began arriving at polling stations in downtown Tokyo early in the morning.
Shinji Asada, 44, said he likened COVID-19 measures to electing a candidate hoping to change leadership, as he felt the ruling party lacked explanation and transparency on its pandemic measures.
He said that despite Kishida’s promise to be more aware of the voices of the people, “I thought nothing would change after seeing his cabinet (under him),” whose positions went largely to party factions. who voted for him.
A 50 year old part time worker, kana butcher, said he voted for someone he thought would “work to the bone” for a better future.
.