Japan's upcoming election is about more than just "Abenomics"

ALL major policy initiatives in Japan are "on hold" until Dec 14, when a snap election to the Lower House of Parliament will take place. It is all but certain that the present government will remain in power, but what is not certain is the size of its majority.

The outcome could make a big, possibly crucial, difference to the direction that Japan will take in the next four years, politically, economically and in terms of the nation's position in Asia and in the world.

Public opinion polls show Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet - drawn from members from his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and coalition partner New Komeito - going into the election with a voter disapproval rate higher than its support rate. But despite this, the government is almost certain to emerge victorious simply because a greater number of voters favour the governing coalition than the Democratic Party of Japan and other opposition parties.