Voting in Japan's general election began on Sunday morning, with 1,284 candidates competing for 465 seats in the House of Representatives, the powerful lower chamber of parliament.
The primary focus of the election is whether the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party will secure a majority and allow the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to continue, or whether the opposition will expand its strength and block that outcome.
Polling stations across the country will close at 20:00 local time on Sunday, and ballot counting is expected to last late into the night.
Of the 465 seats in the House of Representatives, 289 will be elected from single-member districts and 176 through proportional representation in 11 regional blocs.
The term of office for members of the House of Representatives is four years. However, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced the dissolution of the lower house for a snap election on January 23, one year and three months after the last House of Representatives election.
Takaichi's ruling coalition currently holds only a slim majority in the powerful House of Representatives and remains a minority in the House of Councillors.
Japan's general election begins voting
Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that the country's missile program was "never negotiable" in talks with the United States.
Araghchi made the statement in an interview with Qatar's Al Jazeera.
Commenting on indirect negotiations on Friday between Iran and the United States that focused solely on Iran's nuclear issue, Araghchi said they were a good "start," but there is a long way ahead to build trust.
The United States has, over the past months, been calling on Iran to curb its missile program, a demand Tehran has firmly rejected.
Missile is never negotiable as it is a defense issue, Araghchi said.
The United States and Israel failed to destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities even through bombing the country's atomic facilities last June, he said, asserting Iran's "inalienable" right to continue uranium enrichment on its own soil.
Regarding a potential U.S. attack, Araghchi said it would not be possible for Iran to attack U.S. soil, but it could target American bases in West Asia.
Araghchi said he expected a new round of talks with the United States to take place "soon".
Friday negotiations between the U.S. and Iranian delegations, headed by the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Araghchi, marked a renewed diplomatic effort amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington in view of the latter's military buildup in the region.
Iran's missile program non-negotiable: FM
