Japan’s Shinzo Abe hits the campaign trail for election on his ‘Abenomics’ plan

Official campaigning kicked off in Japan yesterday ahead of a December 14 election that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has described as a referendum on his faltering "Abenomics" growth blitz.

"We are determined to win," Abe told hundreds of voters at his initial stump speech in the northern port of Soma. "I promise to make Japan a country that can shine again at the centre of the world."

The town lies around 40km from the Fukushima nuclear plant, which was sent into meltdown by the 2011 tsunami. Its fragile economy and ageing populace are a stark reminder of the challenges Abe's government faces as it struggles to kick-start Japan's lethargic economy.

More than 1,180 candidates nationwide were vying for 475 legislative seats in the powerful lower house of parliament, with Abe's Liberal Democratic Party seen as likely to cruise to a comfortable majority.

The 60-year-old premier still has two years left in his mandate, but he called for the vote in the wake of his decision last month to delay a planned sales tax hike to 10 per cent next year.

A levy rise in April - from 3 per cent to 8 per cent - slammed the brakes on growth and pushed the country into recession during the July-September quarter.