A two-thirds majority in parliament would allow the 63-year-old leader to push through an amendment to Japan’s pacifist constitution, turning its self-defence force into an army
Recent polls suggest Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is on track for a landslide victory in Japan’s upcoming election as a new party founded by Tokyo’s popular governor loses momentum.
Abe’s conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is projected to win as many as 303 of the 465 seats up for grabs in the October 22 election, according to survey results released on Monday by the Mainichi newspaper.
The LDP’s junior coalition partner Komeito is expected to gain more than 30 seats, giving Abe’s ruling camp a comfortable two-thirds majority in the powerful lower house, the poll suggested.
The survey was conducted on Friday, Saturday and Sunday across the nation, with more than 73,000 eligible voters questioned by phone.
A two-thirds majority in parliament would allow Abe, 63, to push through an amendment to Japan’s pacifist constitution.
The hawkish premier has called for changes to the US-imposed law so Japan can turn its self-defence forces into a full-fledged army.
Gloves off as Japan PM Shinzo Abe and opposition leader Yuriko Koike begin campaigning for snap election
Support for Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike’s newly founded Party of Hope, which has transformed Japan’s political landscape and swallowed up the main opposition Democratic Party, appears to be declining, with surveys predicting it might win up to 54 seats.
