Tokyo voters headed to the polls yesterday in a day seen as a litmus test ahead of national elections that could give Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe an uninterrupted three years without a public vote.
Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), in partnership with the junior New Komeito, are expected to claim a comfortable majority in the 127-seat Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly.
The ballot is widely being seen as an indicator of public opinion in the run up to upper house polls expected on July 21.
It will be the first voters’ verdict on Abe’s administration, which came to power in December last year and still enjoys approval ratings of more than 60 percent.
An economic policy blitz dubbed “Abenomics,” which blends massive monetary easing, big fiscal spending and a series of reforms aimed at freeing up businesses, has dominated the opening months of the Abe government.
Japan’s sleep-walking economy — the world’s third-largest — has been given a jolt by the moves, with the yen shedding some of its export-sapping strength and the stock market putting in the best performance in the developed world this year.
Despite a few weeks of wobbles that have seen the headline Nikkei 225 index loose some of its steam, many economists still feel Abenomics has legs.
If Abe can secure control of the upper house in next month’s polls, it will relieve a legislative bottleneck and give him free rein to push through the painful reforms commentators say Japan desperately needs.
Detractors say that with a majority in both houses, Abe will take his eye off the economic ball and push the conservative social agenda he was known for before the election, including a possible reassessment of Japan’s wartime history.
They say this risks further irritating already inflamed relationships with China and South Korea. The campaign in the Japanese capital has been relatively low key, with few issues of contention for Tokyo voters.
That is expected to mean a low turnout, giving a further boost to the establishment LDP, who have a solid support base.
The LDP’s main opponents, the Democratic Party of Japan, are currently the largest grouping in the assembly with 54 seats, but are in disarray after their national drubbing in December.
Tokyo Governor Naoki Inose, in whom the bulk of city power is vested, is not up for election, having won a four-year term in December.
Voting began at 7am and the polls closed at 8pm.
Broadcasters were expected to provide exit polls indicating the likely result shortly thereafter.
BEYOND WASHINGTON: Although historically the US has been the partner of choice for military exercises, Jakarta has been trying to diversify its partners, an analyst said Indonesia’s first joint military drills with Russia this week signal that new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto would seek a bigger role for Jakarta on the world stage as part of a significant foreign policy shift, analysts said. Indonesia has long maintained a neutral foreign policy and refuses to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict or US-China rivalry, but Prabowo has called for stronger ties with Moscow despite Western pressure on Jakarta. “It is part of a broader agenda to elevate ties with whomever it may be, regardless of their geopolitical bloc, as long as there is a benefit for Indonesia,” said Pieter
‘SHARP COMPETITION’: Australia is to partner with US-based Lockheed Martin to make guided multiple launch rocket systems, an Australian defense official said Australia is to ramp up missile manufacturing under a plan unveiled yesterday by a top defense official, who said bolstering weapons stockpiles would help keep would-be foes at bay. Australian Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said the nation would establish a homegrown industry to produce long-range guided missiles and other much-needed munitions. “Why do we need more missiles? Strategic competition between the United States and China is a primary feature of Australia’s security environment,” Conroy said in a speech. “That competition is at its sharpest in our region, the Indo-Pacific.” Australia is to partner with US-based weapons giant Lockheed Martin to make
US ELECTION: Polls show that the result is likely to be historically tight. However, a recent Iowa poll showed Harris winning the state that Trump won in 2016 and 2020 US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris courted voters angered by the Gaza war while former US President and Republican candidate Donald Trump doubled down on violent rhetoric with a comment about journalists being shot as the tense US election campaign entered its final hours. The Democratic vice president and the Republican former president frantically blitzed several swing states as they tried to win over the last holdouts with less than 36 hours left until polls open on election day today. Trump predicted a “landslide,” while Harris told a raucous rally in must-win Michigan that “we have momentum — it’s
TIGHT CAMPAIGN: Although Harris got a boost from an Iowa poll, neither candidate had a margin greater than three points in any of the US’ seven battleground states US Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live (SNL) in the final days before the election, as she and former US president and Republican presidential nominees make a frantic last push to win over voters in a historically close campaign. The first lines Harris spoke as she sat across from Maya Rudolph, their outfits identical, was drowned out by cheers from the audience. “It is nice to see you Kamala,” Harris told Rudolph with a broad grin she kept throughout the sketch. “And I’m just here to remind you, you got this.” In sync, the two said supporters
RSS