Opinion surveys suggest that the Liberal Democratic Party of Ishiba may not reach the majority in the elections of the Upper House.
The voters in Japan will go to the surveys in the elections of the upper house that is seen as a proof of the popular Prime Minister Shigeru Ihiba and his ruling coalition.
The voting stations opened throughout the country at 7 am on Sunday (22:00 GMT, Saturday) and will continue until 8 pm (11:00 GMT) in most places, according to the national station of Japan, NHK.
The growing cost of living, especially for the basic food of rice, is a key issue for many voters, with a decrease in population and foreign policy also on the agenda, according to NHK.
Opinion surveys suggest that the Liberal Democratic Party of Ishiba (LDP) and the Komeito coalition partner can run out of the 50 seats necessary to retain control of the upper house of the Parliament of 248 seats in an election where half of the seats are available.
A bad performance on Sunday would not trigger a change of government of the upper house lacks the power to present a motion of non -confidence against a leader, but would deepen the uncertainty about Ishiba’s policy. Ishiba would face calls within the LDP to resign or find another coalition partner.
Opinion surveys also suggest that the narrowest opposition parties that drive tax cuts and increased public spending are produced. These parties include Sanseito from the right, which promises to stop immigration, opposes foreign capital entries and movements of inverse gender equality.
“I am attending the postgraduate school, but there are no Japanese [people] Around me. All of them are foreigners, “said Yu Nagai, a 25 -year -old student who said he voted for Sunito.
“When I look at the way in which compensation and money are at foreigners, I think the Japanese are a bit disrespect,” Nagai told the Reuters news agency.
Meanwhile, other voters expressed concern about increasing xenophobia.
Yuko Tsuji, a 43 -year -old consultant, who arrived at an electoral table within a gym in the center of Tokyo with her husband, said they support LDP for stability and voted “for candidates who will not feed the dision.”
“If the ruling party does not govern correctly, the conservative base will deviate towards the extremes. So I voted in the hope that the ruling party will squeeze things,” he told the Associated Press news agency.
Daiichi Nasu on its own, 57, said it awaits a change towards a more inclusive and diverse society, with more open immigration and gender policies, such as allowing married couples to maintain separate surnames. “That is why I voted for the CDPJ,” he said, referring to the Constitutional Party of Japan of the opposition. “I want to see progress on those fronts.”
More than 20 percent of registered voters, about 21 million people, voted early, significantly more than three years, NHK reported.
Ishiba, 68, a “geek” of selfish defense and train enthusiast, became Prime Minister in his fifth attempt last September before calling SNAP elections immediately by the end of October.
These surveys marked a significant defeat for the ruling coalition of the new prime minister, which only 209 seats won in the Chamber of Representatives of Parliament, below the 279 that he previously held.
In April, Isthiba announced emergency economic measures to relieve any impact on industries and homes affected by the new tariffs imposed by the United States in Japanese exports.
The country is still frantically looking for a postponement of the rates proposed of 25 percent of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, before a new deadline of August 1 promoted by Washington.
The Central LDP of Ishiba has governed Japan almost continuously since 1955, although with frequent leader changes.
He is the third prime minister to direct the country since former leader Shinzo Abe resigned in September 2020.
Abe was killed two years later, which caused revelations and public outrage over ties between the former prime minister, his PLD and the unification church.
