GEIS-新闻详情

Japan’s election to serve as test for ruling party amid leadership shift

2021-10-31 00:00:00.0 华盛顿邮报-世界原网页

TOKYO — Japan’s general election is underway, in the first test for the country’s new prime minister amid growing frustrations over the ruling party’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and the stagnant economy.

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Elections for the Lower House, held every four years, are projected to be unusually competitive this year for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), in the face of a more consolidated opposition and criticisms of the former prime minister’s handling of covid response.

There are signs that voters may be more engaged than in the previous election in 2017. Nearly 1 million more people voted early than in 2017, according to figures released Friday. New activist groups have been mobilizing younger voters, who have historically turned out at dismally low rates but have shown new interest in voting this year because of the pandemic.

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Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who was elected Sept. 29, has been stumping across the country for his party’s candidates, amid warning signs that his party may not win in a landslide.

Sunday’s election serves as the first opportunity for voters to weigh in on the direction of the country under the leadership of the LDP and Kishida, who was elected prime minister through an internal party vote. Losing the majority would make it more difficult for Kishida to push the LDP agenda through the Lower House.

Kishida has faced declining approval ratings, despite still being in the honeymoon period of his tenure.

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He undercut his own campaign promise of a “rebirth” of the LDP to include younger and more diverse voices when he appointed older, longtime leaders of the party to top cabinet positions, critics say. And after touting his vision for a major economic overhaul, he walked back a key proposal for redistributing wealth by raising taxes on capital gains.

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On Saturday evening, Kishida delivered his final campaign speech in Tokyo’s Oimachi district. A sign of his packed campaign schedule, Kishida’s voice gave out repeatedly as he sought to energize the relatively muted crowd.

“Nationwide, we are seeing a tight race,” he said, and called the election “a poll to choose our future to push forward coronavirus countermeasures and a sustainable economy.”

Yoshihide Suga stepped down as prime minister in September after his plummeting approval ratings tied to the pandemic response posed a liability for down-ballot candidates running in Sunday’s general election.

Although projections show the LDP is likely to maintain its coalition majority in the Lower House, the election has nonetheless energized activists working to mobilize voters in their 20s and 30s.

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In 2017, about 53.7 percent of the population voted, and among voters in their 20s, about 34 percent cast a ballot. Several get-out-the-vote efforts have emerged in recent weeks to educate younger citizens about key issues and demystify the voting process.

For example, a coalition came together to draft a questionnaire for all the parties, then distributed answers through social media. The activists united over their frustration with a lack of progress on issues such as LGBT rights, coronavirus response, gender equality, climate change and more.

“As a result more people will be able to vote with a better understanding of the parties,” said Ayaka Machida, 26, an activist leader with the group, “Minna no Mirai 2021,” whose English name is “67 Questions for our Future”

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“We were all frustrated by the fact that there were so many things that haven’t changed under the government and too many issues that have long been ignored.”