Japan's Parliamentary Election Campaign kicked off on Wednesday June 22,2016 as
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party seeks a mandate for his
economic policies amid opposition criticism that the lives of the
ordinary people are not improving.
As more than 380 candidates took to the streets across the nation, pleading for votes from vans outside train stations and shopping arcades, Abe opened the campaign with a pledge to proceed with his "Abenomics" plan to revive the economy and pull the country out of a slump.
"The biggest topic of this election is economic policies," Abe told a crowd in Kumamoto, a southern city struck by deadly earthquakes in April. "This is an election in which we decide whether to return to that dark doldrums or not."
Up for grabs in the July 10 vote are 121 seats, or half of the seats in Parliament's less powerful upper house.
It is the first nationwide election since the voting age was lowered to 18 from 20, a step aimed at encouraging younger generations to vote
Old-style loyalties are generally crucial in Japanese elections, so the addition of 2 million younger voters, about 2 per cent of the total voter population if they all turn out will be closely watched, although campaign platforms largely catering to Japan's aging population are turning away young voters and experts say the impact of the expanded voting age will be minimal.
Opposition groups want to keep the ruling bloc from gaining ground in the upper house, where they have a majority but are short of the two-thirds mark.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition holds a two-thirds majority in the more powerful lower house" the benchmark needed for approval in both houses to hold a national referendum on changing the constitution
As more than 380 candidates took to the streets across the nation, pleading for votes from vans outside train stations and shopping arcades, Abe opened the campaign with a pledge to proceed with his "Abenomics" plan to revive the economy and pull the country out of a slump.
"The biggest topic of this election is economic policies," Abe told a crowd in Kumamoto, a southern city struck by deadly earthquakes in April. "This is an election in which we decide whether to return to that dark doldrums or not."
Up for grabs in the July 10 vote are 121 seats, or half of the seats in Parliament's less powerful upper house.
It is the first nationwide election since the voting age was lowered to 18 from 20, a step aimed at encouraging younger generations to vote
Old-style loyalties are generally crucial in Japanese elections, so the addition of 2 million younger voters, about 2 per cent of the total voter population if they all turn out will be closely watched, although campaign platforms largely catering to Japan's aging population are turning away young voters and experts say the impact of the expanded voting age will be minimal.
Opposition groups want to keep the ruling bloc from gaining ground in the upper house, where they have a majority but are short of the two-thirds mark.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition holds a two-thirds majority in the more powerful lower house" the benchmark needed for approval in both houses to hold a national referendum on changing the constitution
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