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Ruling coalition likely to wrest control of Upper House after six yearsJAPANESE voters can judge how effective the economic policies of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are in Upper House elections on Sunday and also decide if they want more stable government for the next three years.迷你倉庫The nation's 242 Upper House members enjoy six-year terms each, but every three years, half the chamber, or 121 seats, are up for grabs.Opinion polls published this week by Japan's major news media say the ruling coalition comprising Mr Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the smaller Komeito could win as many as 70 seats between them.Together with the 59 seats the two parties hold in the chamber that are not being voted on this time, this would give the ruling coalition more than the 122 seats needed for a majority.If that happens, it would bring the curtain down on six years of divided Parliament in Japan that has made policymaking extremely time-consuming and precarious for the government of the day.The next Upper House election is three years away.The parliamentary stalemate had contributed to the decline in the popularity of each administration after only a few months in power, leading to the almost annual changes in the premiership.Incidentally, it was in 2007, during Mr Abe's first stint as prime minister, that the LDP lost control of the Upper House.Currently, the Abe administration's support rate hovers around 60 per cent.There is considerable opposition to his intention to restart idled nuclear power reactors and to the inevitable liberalisation of Japan's highly protected farm sector due to his decision to have Japan join the US-led Trans Pacific Partnership free trade talks.But LDP candidates are said to be leading in 28 out of 31 single-seat constituencies and are shoo-ins in the remaining 16 multi-seat wards.In the proportional representation constituency, which covers the 儲存ntire country, the LDP is also expected to do well, possibly winning 20 or more of the 48 seats at stake.But the party is taking no chances. Secretary- general Shigeru Ishiba told voters in Tsuruoka city, Yamagata prefecture: "Don't believe what the press says about the LDP leading. Please vote for us."Apart from debate about whether Mr Abe's economic policies will produce results, the campaign has seen a lack of discussion on other policy issues.Internet campaigning was introduced this election partly to entice younger Japanese to take a greater interest in politics.But candidates have yet to fully exploit social media to reach out to voters. Many use Twitter merely to post information about where they will speak next rather than engage voters in debate.According to a poll by the largest-circulating Yomiuri Shimbun daily, 81 per cent of voters say they will not look to the Internet for information when deciding who to vote for.Observers say the voter turnout could affect the size of the coalition's win on Sunday.Said veteran political commentator Shiro Tazaki of Jiji Press: "The turnout may fall below 50 per cent due to a lack of interest in the election. A low turnout will favour the LDP and Komeito as they can mobilise bloc votes."Voter turnouts in Japan have noticeably declined in recent years.In last December's general election, it was only 59.32 per cent, the lowest in post-war Japan. The Tokyo assembly elections in June saw only 43.5 per cent of voters exercising their voting rights.Since 1998, to encourage more people to vote, the closing time at polling stations has been extended from 6pm to 8pm. The stations open at 7am.Claiming that few voters turn up in the evening, however, many local authorities this time are closing polling stations from one to three hours earlier, a move that affects about 35 per cent of polling stations nationwide.wengkin@sph.com.sg新蒲崗迷你倉