Japan goes to polls for upper house election

Voters went to the polls on Sunday for Japan's upper house election, with the nation in shock over the assassination of former leader Shinzo Abe.

Nearly a dozen opposition parties are trying to topple the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has ruled, almost without interruption, since the end of World War II.

There are 545 candidates from 15 parties competing for 124 seats, or half of the 248-seat upper house, and a big LDP victory would mean Prime Minister Fumio Kishida could rule without interruption until a scheduled election in 2025.

Sunday's votes will not affect the seats for party leaders, who mostly belong to the more powerful lower house of Japan's two-chamber parliament.