Japanese voters brave typhoon to back prime minister in snap vote

Insecurity over North Korea helps Shinzo Abe beat recently formed Party of Hope at the exit polls

JAPAN’S ruling conservative party was last night on track to win a sweeping election victory, paving the way for Shinzo Abe, the prime minister, to pursue his goal of revising the post-war constitution. Millions of Japanese braved strong winds and heavy rain from an approaching typhoon as well as widespread travel chaos to vote, as 1,200 candidates vied for 465 seats in the lower house of parliament.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was projected to achieve a comfortable majority, according to exit polls, prompting expectations it will retain its two-thirds “super majority” with its coalition partner.

Such a victory would be a major boost for Mr Abe, who came to office in 2012 with promises of bolstering Japan’s defence and rebooting the world’s third largest economy through his “Abenomics” growth strategy.

It also shows that Mr Abe’s highstakes gamble of calling a snap election a year earlier than scheduled – and his promise to resign if his party failed to achieve a majority – appears to have paid off.

The election unfolded against a backdrop of chaotic scenes among the opposition.

Yuriko Koike, the governor of Tokyo, admitted results for her recently formed Party of Hope (Kibo no To) were “severe”.

The populist party’s pledges included a goal of eliminating nuclear power in Japan by 2030 and a delay to an unpopular consumer tax rise due to take effect in 2019. However, its campaign quickly lost momentum after Ms Koke, long touted as a possible first female prime minister, announced she would not be standing as a candidate.

Meanwhile, Mr Abe’s projected win, which paves the way for him to become Japan’s longest-serving post-war prime minister, will give him a fresh mandate to pursue his strong stance against North Korea and continue with his efforts to revitalise a stagnant economy.

His victory will also add momentum to his controversial goal of amending Japan’s pacifist constitution and, in particular, redefining the role of the Self-defence Forces in Article 9, which he aims to implement by 2020.

While Mr Abe is widely viewed as a divisive leader, the current insecurity surrounding North Korea’s nuclear and missile programme appears to have fuelled an underlying conservatism among many voters, pushing them to hedge their bets with the LDP.

“The situation in the world is not stable in many aspects and I believe the LDP is the only party to rely on,” said Kyoko Ichida, 78, after voting in Tokyo.

Yoshihisa Iemori, 50, a construction company owner, added: “I support Abe’s stance not to give in to North Korea’s pressure. I’m focusing on this point for the election.”