Voters in Japan went to the polls on Sunday in an election likely to return conservatives to power at a time of growing tension with China and as the nation seeks to arrest economic decline.
Polls point to a heavy defeat for Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s government, but observers say the electorate will hand the reins of power only reluctantly to the opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
Hawkish one-time premier Shinzo Abe appeared set for a return to office, after a campaign in which he has sketched out a harder line on foreign policy, as tensions rise with China over disputed islands in the East China Sea.
Polls opened early on Sunday and exit polls from broadcasters will be released shortly after the ballot boxes are sealed at 8.00pm.
Abe, whose brief stint as premier in 2006-7 ended ignominiously, has pledged to right Japan’s listless economy, which has suffered years of deflation, made worse by a soaring currency that has squeezed exporters.
“With stronger monetary policies, fiscal policies and growth policies, we will end deflation, correct a high yen, and grow the economy,” said Abe on Saturday.