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Japan election

Young voters feel unrepresented by politicians in aging Japan

Economic growth more important than social issues for people under 40

People attend a Coming of Age Day celebration ceremony in Tokyo: Youth in Japan have few opportunities to change society through their actions, experts say. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)

TOKYO -- When Prime Minister Fumio Kishida dissolved parliament in mid-October, the Shibuya ward office placed a sash announcing the lower house election on Hachiko, the faithful hound whose statue sits at the world-renown intersection. The target audience were the young adults who crowd around the popular rendezvous spot.

With two days to go until Sunday's poll, the race is tight in 40% of the 289 single-seat districts, according to a Nikkei poll conducted on Oct. 26-28, with a united opposition fielding single candidates in 70% of them. An earlier advantage in proportional districts is slipping for Kishida's Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, but the poll expects the coalition to retain a majority in the lower house.

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