Abe on track for hefty election win - polls

The sentence "voter turn-out was expected to be low" probably sums up the feelings of a lot of voters. As Abe and his LDP cohorts have already "won" the election, they feel that there is no need to vote.

Another reason for not voting could be that the voters are fed up with what is going on. For example, at least one elderly lady said she is not voting because she has been harrassed almost daily by Soka Gakkai members to vote for their candidate and Komeito party. She said this leaves her cold about voting. My reply is, if you don't vote, that is a same as a vote for the people you don't want in power. So you had better vote the way you want to ... not the way somebody else wants you to.

The above article seems to support Abe in his bid to end the "twisted parliament." At least that's the feeling I get after reading the fourth paragraph ...

@Ediojin Soka Gakkai members harrass people before every election, and as irritating as they are, I don't regard them as a main cause of a potentially low turnout. It's hard to see any patterns but worst case scenario could be this is an electoral cycle Japanese-style, almost 50 years of the LDP, 3 years of another party and then another 50 years of the LDP.

hyper-easy monetary policy, public spending and structural reform will bolster growth and jolt Japan out of years of stagnation.

Never ever worked before, not gonna work now. Unless by "working" you mean getting Abe reelected, in which case it's working fine.

Sometimes I wonder who in this country is actually voting, and whether they have ever been educated. And then I look at the alternatives... Ishihara and his party of ultra-nationalist buffoons, and a bunch of minor parties with no real say in anything to begin with. Suddenly it becomes clear: Japanese politics are hopeless.

Unbelievable. He wants to revise the constitution, reopen nuclear power plants and spend more on the military to make them more powerful. He has already printed money to devalue the yen and any savings we have in this country. Is this a nation of masochists?

"Monday’s surveys showed 8% of respondents wanted to vote for the New Komeito, ahead of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) with 7%"

Amazing!

"Soka Gakkai members harrass people before every election”

Asking people to vote for a particular candidate is harrassment, is it? I guess we ought to ban all election trucks then.

I'd vote for the party that outlaws loudspeaker cars.

When will this country wake up and start voting? If they don't vote, they don't get to complain about how Japan is being ruined. The folks that DO vote are old and clearly very happy to continue to run this country into the ground because they won't be the ones who have to clean up the mess.

Given there is no meaningful opposition party to vote for I would prefer Abe wins a landslide. He will then have the freedom/power to push through whatever reforms or changes he wants.

Not saying I support his policies, just that I would rather see a democratically elected government able to actively pursue their mandate(s) - for better or worse - and let the voters decided next time whether they want more of the same or change.

The political gridlock in Japan, USA and to a slightly lesser degree in the UK with the coalition is not good. Too much time and focus is spent on internal squabbles, power plays and negotiations instead of governing the country.

@Serrano Do you really see half-forgotten classmates knowing and phoning you up on your private telephone number as the same thing as trucks blaring out election messages? I once told my inquisitive coworker that this is a perfect situation to use that gem of the English language which Londoners refer to as a Vincent Van Gogh.

<>Abe on track for hefty election win - polls

Really?

Shinzo Abe might have been great for the Japanese economy, but he is guaranteed to take relationship with China and Korea back 30 years. Why can't people see that this can only be bad news for Japan?

We all know Japan has a very high rate of suicide, but all 127.8 million in one go is a lot.

RIP Japan.

When the choice before the voter is between Tweedle-Dumb or Tweedle-Dumber, does that make it a real choice or is it merely an illusion of democratic voting? Abe was strongly disliked at Kobe Steel.

DPJ needed a bitter capsule to bring it down .to earth .It will continue the down slide till its elected members learn how to cooperate with its PM..