Rains may bode well for Abe’s party, say experts

TOKYO: A typhoon is expected to lash Japan with heavy rains tomorrow, potentially weighing on turnout as millions of voters head to the polls in the world’s thirdbiggest economy.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appealed to voters to cast their ballots early as Typhoon Lan moved towards Japan, bringing driving rain across the country on election day.

“It’s rare to see typhoon rains over such a large swathe of the Japanese archipelago in October,” Eiju Takahashi, an official with the Japan Meteorological Agency, said.

Only the northern island of Hokkaido is expected to be spared the downpour tomorrow, added Takahashi.

“If it rains on Sunday (tomorrow), the turnout rate will not rise and that would benefit the ruling bloc,” said Mikitaka Masuyama, political scientist at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.

Swing voters tend to abstain on rainy days, while staunch supporters of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner Komeito show up at voting stations whatever the weather, observers say.

“If the turnout rate hits a new record low, that would probably mean the ruling bloc maintains a two-thirds majority,” said Hidenori Suezawa, financial and fiscal analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities.

That is significant, as Abe’s conservative LDP needs a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament in order to propose changes to the country’s constitution.