Japanese PM Takaichi hopes for big win as polls open in national elections скачать в хорошем качестве

Japanese PM Takaichi hopes for big win as polls open in national elections

(8 Feb 2026) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Tokyo, Japan - 8 February 2026 1. Sign outside polling station, reading (Japanese): "House of Representative Election", snow falling 2. Voters inside polling station, filling in ballot papers (++Note: Faces obscured to comply with Japanese electoral restrictions++) 3. Close of sign on ballot box, reading (Japanese): "House of Representative Election, single-seat electoral districts" 4. Voters casting their ballots  5. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Kazuki Ishihara, 54, voter: "I have some hope that she (referring to Sanae Takaichi) could do something no-one was able to do." 6. Voter filling in ballot paper 7. Voter casting ballots 8. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Kazuki Ishihara, 54, voter: "You can call me old-fashioned, but I voted for them (Liberal Democratic Party) because they have always been stable." 9. Board with candidates' posters outside polling station  10. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Yoshinori Tamada, 50, voter: "There are many things that make me think looking at my payslip. I cast my vote for a party which I believe I can trust in that sense." 11. Man passing by poster board 12. Children playing with the snow near polling station  STORYLINE: Polls opened Sunday in parliamentary elections that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi hopes will give her struggling party a big enough win to push through an ambitious conservative political agenda. Takaichi is hugely popular, but the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which has governed Japan for most of the last seven decades, is not.  She called Sunday’s snap elections hoping to turn that around.  Kazuki Ishihara, who voted for the LDP, told the Associated Press that she hopes Takaichi can "do something no-one was able to do." Record snowfall in northern Japan over the last few weeks, which blocked roads and was blamed for dozens of deaths nationwide, could hinder voting or delay vote counting in hard-hit areas.  The ultraconservative Takaichi, who took office as Japan’s first female leader in October, pledged to “work, work, work,” and her style, which is seen as both playful and tough, has resonated with younger fans. The latest surveys indicated a landslide win in the lower house for the LDP. The opposition, despite the formation of a new centrist alliance and a rising far-right, is seen as too splintered to be a real challenger. AP video by Hiromi Tanoue and Mayuko Ono =========================================================== Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: info@aparchive.com. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...