general election of the house of representatives in japan...liberal democratic party majority 'tactile'

Voting for the general election of the House of Representatives, which will determine the fate of Japan's Shigeru Ishiba regime, is taking place from 7 a.m. today.

In this general election, the ruling and opposition parties will compete for a total of 465 seats, including 289 seats in small constituencies and 176 seats in proportional representation.

Voting ends at 8 p.m., and exit polls of each broadcaster will be released with the end of the vote.

While the outline of the election results is expected to be revealed early tomorrow, Prime Minister Ishiba's state administration is expected to gain more momentum if the ruling Liberal Democratic Party wins with a majority of seats.

On the other hand, if the Liberal Democratic Party fails to secure a majority, Prime Minister Ishiba's responsibility within the Liberal Democratic Party will be discussed, and the mainstream forces may move to step down from Ishiba in earnest.