Japan PM visits quake-hit Hokkaido Midterms a vote on Trump

Obama breaks tradition and takes off gloves in criticism of his successor

His name will not be on the ballot, but President Donald Trump will be there in spirit when Americans vote in midterm elections in November.

And the results will set the tone for the remaining two years of the presidency of the man who will be on everybody’s mind.

Americans will vote nationwide on November 6 for the first time since the New York real estate tycoon pulled off one of the most stunning upsets in US political history.

Former president Barack Obama put Trump front and centre in the opening salvo in a series of campaign stops on Friday, accusing him of capitalising on fear and anger.

“What happened to the Republican Party?” Obama asked.

Obama’s speech was more restrained than the previous day’s often fiery remarks in Illinois, when he attacked Trump more frontally, breaking with the long American tradition of restraint by former presidents toward their successors.

Trump, asked about that speech during a trip to North Dakota, quipped that he had watched it but fallen asleep.

All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for grabs, along with 35 seats in the 100-member Senate and the posts of governor in about 30 states. Republicans currently hold majorities in both the House and the Senate.

Democrats are hoping that a “blue wave” will propel them to victory in the House and the latest polls give them a good chance of doing so.

Seizing control for the Senate looks less likely.

In a Washington Post/ABC News poll of registered voters, 52% said they favoured the Democratic candidate over the Republican candidate in their district. Thirty-eight percent said they favoured the Republican.

As for the economy – often a harbinger for the ruling party’s fortunes – 58% said it was “excellent” or “good” with 38% saying it was “not so good”.

Unemployment is currently at an 18-year low at 3.9%, while gross domestic product grew 4.2% in the second quarter.

For many, the midterm vote is being seen as a referendum on Trump, whose style and personality sharply divides Americans.

Trump’s Democratic challenger has not yet emerged and a fierce battle is expected to see who will carry the banner. — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the quake-hit northern region of Hokkaido on Sunday, as officials confirmed two more deaths bringing the toll to 37.

Abe toured the city and commercial hub of Sapporo, where Thursday’s 6.6-magnitude jolt has left houses tilted and roads cracked.

He was scheduled to take a helicopter ride to view the devastation in Atsuma, a small rural town which has seen most of the deaths.

A cluster of dwellings in the town were wrecked when a hillside collapsed from the force of the quake.

Abe will later visit residents at evacuation shelters in Atsuma before meeting Hokkaido governor Harumi Takahashi.

The central government has dispatched thousands of rescue workers to look for two missing individuals with the aid of bulldozers, sniffer dogs and helicopters.

The quake was the latest in a string of natural disasters to batter the island nation.

Western parts of the country are still recovering from the most powerful typhoon to strike Japan in a quarter of a century, which claimed 11 lives and shut down the main regional airport.

The quake was the latest in a string of natural disasters