AP, Tokyo :
Japanese are voting in a nationwide election for the upper house that may cement the prime minister’s grip on power, as he forges ahead with policies to encourage exports and easy lending to keep a shaky economic growth going.
Half the seats in parliament’s less powerful upper house are up for grabs in Sunday’s balloting. There is no likelihood of a change of power. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party controls the lower house, which chooses the prime minister. The only contention in the balloting is how much support Abe can win.
Abe had repeatedly stressed during his campaign that his “Abenomics” program to bolster growth is still unfinished, and patience is needed for results. He has not touched on the other part of his agenda, which is to have Japan assert itself more as a military power.
“That is so dangerous, and it may lead Japan into war with other nations and make it a nation without freedoms at home,” said Yuriko Keino, a musician and composer living in Tokyo, who was planning to vote later in the day. “We must all raise our voices and come together to protect peace and freedom.”
The Liberal Democrats have ruled Japan since World War II almost incessantly with their pro-business policies, and until recently enjoyed solid support from rural areas.
Japanese are voting in a nationwide election for the upper house that may cement the prime minister’s grip on power, as he forges ahead with policies to encourage exports and easy lending to keep a shaky economic growth going.
Half the seats in parliament’s less powerful upper house are up for grabs in Sunday’s balloting. There is no likelihood of a change of power. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party controls the lower house, which chooses the prime minister. The only contention in the balloting is how much support Abe can win.
Abe had repeatedly stressed during his campaign that his “Abenomics” program to bolster growth is still unfinished, and patience is needed for results. He has not touched on the other part of his agenda, which is to have Japan assert itself more as a military power.
“That is so dangerous, and it may lead Japan into war with other nations and make it a nation without freedoms at home,” said Yuriko Keino, a musician and composer living in Tokyo, who was planning to vote later in the day. “We must all raise our voices and come together to protect peace and freedom.”
The Liberal Democrats have ruled Japan since World War II almost incessantly with their pro-business policies, and until recently enjoyed solid support from rural areas.
