gloves off as japan election campaign starts
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

In The World's Third-Largest Economy

Gloves off as Japan election campaign starts

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice Gloves off as Japan election campaign starts

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
Tokyo - Emirates Voice

Tokyo's popular governor Yuriko Koike launched a bitter attack on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Tuesday as the gloves came off for the official start of a snap election campaign in the world's third-largest economy. 

Conservative premier Abe, 63, is facing an unexpected and fierce challenge from the media-savvy Koike, who has upended the sleepy world of Japanese politics with her upstart "Party of Hope."

Addressing hundreds of commuters at a busy Tokyo station via loudspeaker, Koike called on supporters to "end the politics of Abe," lashing out at the long-serving premier over recent scandals that have weighed on his popularity.

"The political status quo has continued while politics itself has lost the public's confidence," charged the former TV anchorwoman, 65.

The 12-day campaign will be fought around reviving Japan's once world-beating economy and the ever-present threat of North Korea which has threatened to "sink" the country into the sea.

Koike's "Party of Hope" has swallowed up and replaced most of the main opposition party in the space of a week, transforming Japan's staid political landscape.

But surveys suggest her bandwagon is grinding to a halt as she refuses to run herself for PM in the election, focusing on running the world's most populous city with three years until Tokyo hosts the Olympic Games.

A poll in the top-selling Yomiuri daily suggested that 32 percent of voters plan to vote for Abe's conservative LDP with 13 percent for the Party of Hope -- down six percentage points from the previous poll in late September.

- Referendum on Abe -

Abe is seeking a fresh term at the helm of the Asian economic powerhouse and key US regional ally and unexpectedly called a snap election to capitalise on a weak and fractured opposition.

But Koike stole his limelight by launching her party, attacking Abe's government for being too slow to reform the country, weighed down by an ageing population, deflation and a huge debt mountain.

Abe returned to power in December 2012 and has pushed a nationalist social agenda as well as his trademark "Abenomics" economic policy, promising to kick deflation and achieve two-percent inflation with stable growth in two years.

But nearly five years later, he has failed to deliver on those pledges.

Critics argue that Abe called the early election to divert attention from a string of scandals, including allegations of favouritism to a friend in a business deal -- which the premier strongly denies.

And analysts say the October 22 is effectively a referendum on Abe, who has enjoyed unrivalled political strength for the past five years in part because of a lack of credible opposition, while his key policies remained controversial or unpopular.

Koike says her new group promotes "compassionate conservatism" and hopes to distinguish herself from Abe by pledging a phase-out of nuclear power by 2030 and a freeze on a planned sales tax hike.

Koike sceptics, however, charge that she repeats vague, catchy phrases and lacks details including how to pay for her ambitious projects.

Abe plans to use proceeds from the proposed tax hike on making childcare free in a bid to get more women into the labour force.

He has also appealed to voters to keep him in power so he can continue his hard-line approach to North Korea, which has fired two missiles over Japan's northern island of Hokkaido.

- Rival conservative blocs -

More than 1,000 candidates were expected to run for 465 seats in the all-powerful lower house -- a reduction of 10 seats from the previous election.

The outcome could create two rival conservative blocs with broadly similar diplomatic and defence policies, with fragmented leftist forces filling the gap, pundits say.

Abe's ruling bloc currently holds a two-thirds majority, with his long-ruling LDP holding 287 seats while its junior partner Komeito has 35.

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

gloves off as japan election campaign starts gloves off as japan election campaign starts

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

gloves off as japan election campaign starts gloves off as japan election campaign starts

 



GMT 05:06 2024 Tuesday ,06 February

New hunt for flight MH370 gets under way

GMT 05:14 2024 Wednesday ,07 February

Sophisticated Classic Dining Room Design Ideas

GMT 16:17 2018 Thursday ,30 August

Five Saudi women pilots granted GACA licences

GMT 05:17 2024 Wednesday ,07 February

Amazon to open first cashierless shop

GMT 10:31 2014 Tuesday ,23 December

Mirages of failure: Lebanon cannot wait

GMT 07:29 2015 Wednesday ,12 August

Pearson says sells its share of The Economist Group

GMT 09:34 2011 Sunday ,14 August

Syria’s Pharaoh

GMT 15:31 2016 Monday ,22 February

Britain gets first new national daily

GMT 09:34 2015 Friday ,19 June

Classic Arctic roll

GMT 15:13 2016 Saturday ,21 May

Nokia to shed more than 1,000 jobs in Finland

GMT 08:48 2016 Sunday ,10 April

To meet slum kids, Bollywood stars

GMT 00:49 2018 Wednesday ,24 January

Positive aviation sentiments fuel MRO industry's growth

GMT 10:58 2017 Wednesday ,08 March

Europe launches fourth Earth monitoring satellite

GMT 21:55 2016 Thursday ,16 June

Daesh still has 'global reach

GMT 12:23 2017 Saturday ,23 December

Leaders congratulate Japanese Emperor

GMT 14:45 2017 Thursday ,14 December

AnOther Magazine names fashion coordinator

GMT 21:54 2017 Saturday ,25 November

Gearing up for one more F1 show

GMT 21:57 2017 Tuesday ,28 November

Pakistan protests grow as military stays silent

GMT 12:24 2017 Monday ,13 March

How to deal with early

GMT 13:55 2011 Saturday ,30 July

BCC praises HM King hamad’s keynote address

GMT 10:39 2015 Sunday ,25 October

Antioxidant use may promote spread of cancer

GMT 12:21 2012 Sunday ,04 March

Campbell channels Tina Turner

GMT 11:11 2016 Sunday ,17 April

Concord creates impression with Impresario
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
 
 Emirates Voice Facebook,emirates voice facebook  Emirates Voice Twitter,emirates voice twitter Emirates Voice Rss,emirates voice rss  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

emiratesvoieen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen
emiratesvoice emiratesvoice emiratesvoice
emiratesvoice
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice