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Voting begins in Japan's Lower House election

TOKYO, Oct 22 (KUNA) -- Voting for Japan's 48th Lower House election began Sunday at about 48,000 polling stations across the country, with asking voters to pass judgment on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's security polices and tax reform.
A total of 1,180 candidates are vying for the 465 seats at stake -- 289 from single-seat constituencies and 176 through proportional representation process in 11 regions.
Some 140 million Japanese citizens aged 18 or older are eligible to vote across Japan until polling stations close by 8 p.m. (1100 GMT), with vote counting to begin immediately after the polls close, and the results are expected to be known by Monday morning.
As powerful Typhoon Lan is approaching the Japanese archipelago, election experts have predicted a less turnout than the 52.66 percent in the 2014 Lower House election.
Various opinion polls published by local media suggest that the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is expected to lead the race among 10 parties, with the LDP-led governing coalition likely to secure a comfortable majority in the 465-member strong chamber, which has the power to appoint a prime minister. 63-year-old Abe, who is LDP President, has said he will step down if his LDP and its smaller coalition partner Komeito do not win an overall majority with a combined 233 seats.
Abe, who took office in 2012, dissolved the Lower House last month for a snap election to seek the public support to his security polices dealing with North Korean threats and his plans to review the allocation of revenues from a scheduled tax hike in 2019.
It is the first parliamentary election for the Lower House since December 2014, when the LDP-led coalition won landslide victory in the chamber. The number of Lower House seats was reduced from 475 to 465 in this election. As of Saturday, the LDP had 284 seats in the Lower House, and its coalition partner New Komeito had 34. (end) mk.tg