Polls open in Japan elections, amid record snowfall

Polls have opened in Japan for an election that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi hopes will allow him to impose new conservative policies.

Polls predict the election will give Takaichi a landslide victory, but record snowfall in some parts of the country could cause many voters to stay home on Sunday.

The conservative coalition of Takaichi, the country’s first female leader, could win more than 300 of the 465 seats in the lower house of parliament, according to many opinion polls; this is a big win compared to the 233 seats he defended.

If the coalition of Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin, wins 310 seats, it could override the opposition-controlled upper house.

Takaichi, 64, who became prime minister in October after being elected LDP leader, sought a mandate from voters in a rare winter election as he rode a wave of popularity.

With an outspoken style and a hard-working image that won him support, especially among young voters, Takaichi stepped up military spending and pushed for economic stimulus and tax cuts against China, where he sparked a diplomatic row that rattled financial markets.

“If Takaichi wins big, he will have more political space to deliver on key commitments, including consumption tax cuts,” said Seiji Inada, managing director of strategic consulting consultancy FGS Global.

“Markets may react in the coming days and the yen may come under pressure again.”

He pledged to suspend an 8 percent sales tax on food for two years to help households cope with rising prices, driven in part by a sharp decline in the yen.

Takaichi has created a wave of Sanae-mania, mostly among voters, led by social media, for the products he uses, such as his bag and the pink pen with which he scribbles notes in parliament; This is called “sanakatsu”.

A recent poll found that more than 90 percent of voters under 30 support him.

But this younger generation is less likely to vote than older generations, who have long been the basis of LDP support.

On Thursday, Takaichi received the endorsement of US President Donald Trump; It’s a signal that could appeal to right-leaning voters but also put off some moderates.

With up to 70cm of snow expected in northern and eastern regions on Sunday, some voters will have to fight through the blizzard to make decisions about his administration. This is the third post-war election held in February, and elections are usually held in milder months.

In Nagaoka, rural north of Niigata, where more than a meter of snow piled up on roadsides on Saturday, campaigners urged people to vote early to avoid expected snowstorms.

“The weather is bad enough in the towns, but there’s twice as much snow in the mountains. It’s hard to even leave the house,” said Takehiko Igarashi, a Japanese Communist Party volunteer who summoned his supporters and offered to drive them to polling stations.

In the last lower house elections, turnout hovered around the mid-50 percent mark. Any decline on Sunday could increase the influence of organized voting blocs.

One of them is Komeito, which left its coalition with the LDP last year and merged with the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan into a centrist group. Komeito has close ties to the non-Buddhist Soka Gakkai group, which claims at least eight million members nationwide.

Voters will elect MPs in 289 single-seat constituencies, while the rest will be determined by proportional representation votes of the parties.

Polls will close at 8pm (10pm AEDT), with broadcasters expected to publish predictions based on exit polls.

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