Japan election: Sanae Takaichi set for big win as polls open

While Takaichi is popular, her conservative Liberal Democratic Party is not. The prime minister hopes the snap election will boost the ruling LDP and provide her with a strong mandate for her conservative agenda

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi dissolved parliament in January ahead of the snap elections, a gamble she hopes will provide her and her struggling party with a stronger mandate.

While Takaichi is hugely popular, particularly with younger voters, her conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has ruled the country for most of the past seven decades, has been hit by scandals and is facing a new opposition alliance that has emerged as a potential challenger.