TOKYO (Sputnik) — Polling stations in the Japanese capital have opened to choose representatives for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, a prefectural parliament of Tokyo.
The 127-seat local parliament is contested between 259 candidates. The main contenders are among the Tokyoites First, the political group of Tokyo's Mayor Yuriko Koike, and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
The election results may provide with a preliminary forecast for the elections to the lower house of parliament, which are scheduled to be held no later than December 2018.
Observers noted the increased activity of voters: 980,000 people took part in the preliminary ballot, which is 57 percent more than in the previous elections in 2013.
