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Japan Votes for Lower House of Parliament


Voters fill in their ballots in a general election at a polling station in Tokyo, Oct. 22, 2017. Voting has kicked off for Japan’s general election that would most likely hand Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling coalition a win.
Voters fill in their ballots in a general election at a polling station in Tokyo, Oct. 22, 2017. Voting has kicked off for Japan’s general election that would most likely hand Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling coalition a win.

Japanese voters are going to the polls Sunday for a general election.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling coalition is expected to win the two-thirds “super majority” it held in parliament’s lower house before Abe dissolved the chamber in September.

A coalition victory in the snap election would likely ensure Abe receives another three-year term as head of the Liberal Democratic Party next year, extending his premiership.

Opinion polls indicate voters consider Abe’s government a safe choice as the country deals with anxiety over North Korea’s nuclear and missile development.

One hiccup in voter turnout, however, may be Typhoon Lan, which is expected to sweep ashore Sunday, battering large chunks of Japan.

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