TOKYO,(AP)- Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was seeking to maintain his party's long dominance of Japanese politics and win a mandate to press ahead with his economic reforms as voters cast ballots Sunday in parliamentary elections.
The national poll for all 480 seats in the powerful lower house of Parliament is the first major election since Koizumi took office more than two years ago.
The popular prime minister's ruling Liberal Democratic Party is heavily favored to retain power, but a large number of undecided voters and other factors -- especially voter turnout -- could affect the margin of victory. The opposition Democratic Party believes that higher turnout could help its prospects.
On Sunday, the national Asahi newspaper stressed that issues such as Koizumi's push to send peacekeepers to Iraq -- and the opposition's unwavering stance against it -- might also sway the populace.
``In public opinion polls conducted by this newspaper, many people will be placing greater importance on political parties' campaign promises rather than individual candidates,'' Asahi said in an editorial.
Amending the peace constitution to give the military more flexibility in the post-Sept. 11 era of terrorism and reforming public pensions -- a hot topic in a country with one of world's fastest graying societies -- have also received prominent campaign air-time.
But the economy remains the public's top priority.
Koizumi has said his reforms have spurred a recovery from more than a decade of economic stagnation and has asked voters not to risk reversing the gains by ousting him. Naoto Kan, who heads the largest opposition party, the Democrats, has accused the LDP of being long on promises and short on results, saying he can do better.
``I am counting on the public to have the courage to make a change,'' Kan said after people began voting.