Kathmandu. Voting for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly began on Sunday, which is seen as a key barometer of public sentiment towards the central government.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party has lost popularity due to inflation and high rice prices, but still hopes to retain its position as the single largest party in the metropolis’ legislature.
“We will do everything to get the results in favour of all our candidates. Ishiba had said at a press conference when the election campaign began earlier this month. He said his party had no choice but to address local issues affecting Tokyo’s nearly 14 million residents.
Tokyo is closely monitoring the July 20 tokyo assembly elections, the upper house of Japan’s legislature, as the upper house elections are scheduled for July 20, local media reported.
Ishiba, who lost his majority in the lower house elections last October, is trying to retain his coalition’s majority. Local media have speculated that the election defeat could lead to a change in the party’s leadership. Ishiba, who took office in October, has had little public support for months.
During his tenure, prices of rice and other items have gone up. A survey conducted this month showed a slight increase in support due to new policies to address the problem of rice prices.
The polling stations will be closed at 8 pm local time. A record 295 candidates took part in Sunday’s election.
Japan, ranked 118th out of 148 countries on the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index this year, is witnessing the highest number of female candidates since 1997 ( the highest ever) of 99 female candidates, officials hailed japan’s election as a “delightful trend” in the election.
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