Japan Starts General Elections
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As Japan's ruling party faces the risk of having a low number of seats compared to past years, the Japanese headed to polls on Sunday amid promises of more spending.
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A voter casts a ballot in the lower house elections as representatives of a local election administration commission observe at a polling station Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021, in Tokyo.
The Japanese took to the polls on Sunday as the general election started on the island as the Liberal Democratic Party, Japan's ruling party, is hoping for a fresh start.
The LDP is attempting to sway the pandemic-fatigued public with spending promises from Prime Minister Fumio Kishida following a general discontent with the COVID-19 response in the East Asian country.
Kishida became leader of the LDP, also known as Jiminto, after its former president resigned one year into the job, which was attributed to Japanese dissatisfaction with his pandemic response.
Japan's cases have since plunged, and the government lifted the majority of restrictions after the coronavirus ravaged the island, costing it thousands of lives and postponing its Olympics.
Although the lifting of restrictions may ease some voters' frustrations, analysts say the LDP is likely bound to lose seats, and it may struggle to retain its commanding majority after winning almost every election since the 1950s.
Kishida's spending promises come in the form of a stimulus package worth hundreds of millions of dollars in a bid to counter the adverse effects the pandemic had on the world's third-largest economy.
The prime minister also outlined plans that entail a fairer distribution of wealth under a so-called "new capitalism." Details about the system Kishida has in mind remain vague so far.
How is the election looking?
There are 1,051 candidates running for the lower house of parliament in Japan, with five rival parties putting their hands together in hopes of lessening the LDP's authority in Japan.
Despite the opposing coalition, the LDP has "great advantages" in the Japanese political arena, with a strong network of supporters nationwide, said Michael Cucek, assistant professor of Asian studies at Temple University.
In addition to the challenge of the opposition wanting to put its hand over the rule in Japan and going all out to reach this goal, the LDP is facing the challenge of putting the turbulent last year behind it. "The fact that they are still having to fight so hard is, for them, highly embarrassing," Cucek said.
Kishida's approval ratings are the lowest an administration in Japan had in the past two decades, with a 50% approval rating.
He has a goal of winning 233 out of the 465 seats in the lower house of parliament, which would constitute a small majority that would include MPs from Komeito, the LDP's junior coalition partner.
Such a result would make for a significant setback for the LDP, as it previously held 276 seats on its own.
Even if the party wins, analysts warn that a poor showing rate could see it losing in next summer's upper-house vote, which could in turn risk a return to the Japanese history of revolving-door premierships.
Since WWII, when the Japanese Empire fell and the country switched to a democratic constitutional monarchy, only five politicians stayed on the PM's chair for five years or longer - some even lasted as little as two months.
