Tokyo : Campaigning began in Japan Tuesday for the election to the lower house of parliament to be held Dec 14.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) aims at another victory, while the opposition parties will try to stop one-party dominance by the LDP, which held nearly 300 of the 480 seats in the House of Representatives or lower house of the National Diet (parliament), Kyodo News reported.
Opposition parties are stepping up criticism of the premier’s “Abenomics” policy mix since recent gross domestic product data showed that the Japan’s economy contracted for two consecutive quarters through September as the impact of a consumption tax hike in April proved greater than expected.
House of Representatives was dissolved Nov 21. Abe called a snap election after postponement of the second round of sales tax hike by 18 months in the wake of the country’s severe economic situation.