Final Campaigning In Tight Japan Election

AFP/APP

Tokyo: Candidates in Japan’s super-tight parliamentary election will make last-ditch appeals to voters on Saturday, with opinion polls suggesting the ruling coalition might fall short of a majority.

Such an outcome would be the worst result for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 2009 and potentially a knockout blow to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, analysts say.

Ishiba a fan of trains, 1970s pop idols and making model ships and planes only last month took the helm of the LDP, which has governed Japan for almost all of the past seven decades.

After a tough internal contest, the 67-year-old became premier on October 1.

Days later, he called snap elections for October 27, promising a “new Japan”.

Ishiba pledged to revitalise depressed rural regions and to address the “quiet emergency” of Japan’s falling population by supporting families with policies such as flexible working hours.

But he has since rowed back his position on issues including allowing married couples to take separate surnames.

He also named only two women ministers in his cabinet.

A new poll on Friday by the Yomiuri Shimbun daily suggested that the LDP and its coalition partner Komeito might struggle to get the 233 lower house seats needed for a majority.