Abe Begins Election Bid as Recession Clouds Economic Policy

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took his economic message to Japan’s regions today, starting his campaign for re-election with the country in recession.

For the next 12 days, the streets will reverberate with the sound of political slogans blaring from vans filled with white-gloved campaign workers smiling and waving at passers-by. Candidates will brave winter weather on the stump outside rail stations to deliver their appeals -- invariably on the economy.