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Japan election campaign begins; PM Shinzo Abe pledges stability

Abe pledged his party's stable leadership as he sought voters' support, promising a tougher stance on North Korea, as well as social security reform to relieve burdens on younger generations in Japan's rapidly aging society.

October 10, 2017 / 12:17 PM IST
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK - JULY 10: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his meeting with Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen at the PM's Office on July 10, 2017 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The two heads of state discussed the situation on the Korean peninsula and how Japan and Denmark could enhance their strategic partnership further. The Japanese PM said during their joint press conference that North Korea undermines the international order seriously.  (Photo by Ole Jensen - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK - JULY 10: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his meeting with Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen at the PM's Office on July 10, 2017 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The two heads of state discussed the situation on the Korean peninsula and how Japan and Denmark could enhance their strategic partnership further. The Japanese PM said during their joint press conference that North Korea undermines the international order seriously. (Photo by Ole Jensen - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

Tokyo, Oct 10 (AP) Hundreds of candidates took to the streets today as the official 12-day campaigning period for Japan's October 22 lower house election kicked off, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party facing challenges from regrouped opposition forces.

Up for grabs are 465 seats in the more powerful of Japan's two-chamber parliament.

Abe pledged his party's stable leadership as he sought voters' support, promising a tougher stance on North Korea, as well as social security reform to relieve burdens on younger generations in Japan's rapidly aging society.

"We should stay unwavering," Abe said. "It is the policies, rather than a boom or slogans, that can open the future."

As he did ahead of previous elections since taking office in late 2012, Abe traveled to Fukushima to appeal to voters affected by the nuclear disaster following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan.

Experts say Abe timed his call for an election when opposition parties were unprepared to solidify his grip within the party and extend his rule.

Abe's Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, Komei, are expected to win a majority, though a surging new conservative group, the Party of Hope, led by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, and a liberal-leaning Constitutional Democratic Party are likely to take some seats away.

The two new groups were created in the process of breaking up what used to be the main opposition Democratic Party.

Constitutional Democratic Party leader Yukio Edano said Abe's nearly five years of pro-business policies have escalated Japan's social divide.

"We must regain decent lives," Edano said. "We are going to change politics into one that is based on the people's voices, not one that comes down from up above.

first published: Oct 10, 2017 12:13 pm

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