Polls opened across the country Sunday morning, with all eyes focused on whether the ruling Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito bloc will be able to overcome severe headwinds and retain a stable majority in a tight Lower House election.
Recent polls have indicated the coalition — which has made a simple majority its election goal ー might lose its majority in the powerful lower chamber for the first time in 15 years. Such a scenario would prompt a level of political instability last seen in the country in the 1990s.
The vote is regarded as an early referendum on the newly established administration of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who gambled by calling a snap election just nine days after assuming his post on Oct. 1. The election also marks the first nationwide vote since a wide-ranging slush-funds scandal rocked the LDP, dominating the political debate over the past year.
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