As Japan braces for a snap election later this month, Toshihiro Nikai, the No. 2 man of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, on Wednesday dismissed it as "impossible" that his party will lose big enough to put the leadership of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the LDP in jeopardy.
Questions are mounting over the low bar Abe set for the ruling coalition's victory, aiming to win a simple majority, or 233 seats, in the 465-member Lower House in the Oct. 22 vote.
Some critics say the goal is intentionally unambitious, citing the LDP and Komeito coalition's overwhelming pre-election strength of more than 320 seats. That margin means the LDP alone could afford to lose as many as 89 seats before the two parties hit the minimum 233-seat threshold needed to maintain a majority in the Diet.