The victory boosts Abe's chances of winning another three-year term next September as leader of the Liberal Democratic Party. The "reform conservative" Party of Hope and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, both formed in recent weeks out of the ashes of the moribund Democratic Party, are in a close battle to come out on top among the various opposition parties. The Party of Hope, led by Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike, took in much of the Democratic Party's conservative wing. Final voter turnout was expected to stand at around 54%, up slightly from the record postwar low of 52.36% in the last lower house election in 2014, according to Kyodo News estimates. While Komeito, the Party of Hope and the smaller Japan Innovation Party are all in favour of amendment, they differ on which changes should be prioritized.

Source: Bangkok Post October 22, 2017 21:11 UTC