Voting for Japan's general election starts as PM Kishida seeks mandate

Voting for Japan's general election began on Sunday morning with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida seeking a public mandate for his policies regarding COVID-19, the economy and security.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner Komeito aim to keep a majority in the House of Representatives, the powerful lower chamber of parliament.

The result of the general election depends on the constituencies where ruling coalition candidates were in close race with those from opposition parties, which have also formed coalition in a bid to take the reins of government.

Polling stations across the country will close at 8:00 p.m. local time, and ballot counting is expected to last late into the night.

Media polls suggested that the ruling coalition will retain its majority, taking at least 233 seats in the 465-member lower house, which has more powers over the upper house with the final say in electing the prime minister, passing state budgets and ratifying international treaties.

Of the lower house seats, 289 will come from single-member districts, where candidates fight head-to-head for votes. Another 176 will be decided through proportional representation which allocates seats based on parties' votes in 11 regional blocks.

(ANI)

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