Japan's Takaichi talks tough on immigration on eve of vote

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged to make Japan "more prosperous and safer", including through tougher immigration screening, in a final appeal to voters on the eve of snap elections.



Opinion polls suggest that Takaichi's ruling bloc, led by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), could romp home in Sunday's vote and secure a two-thirds majority in the powerful lower house.



"Pushing the button for growth is the Takaichi Cabinet's job. Japan will become more and more prosperous and safer," Takaichi, 64, told a campaign rally attended by thousands in Tokyo.



"This is the year in which we want to turn the anxieties people feel about their lives today and about the future into hope," she added.



The arch-conservative Takaichi, a heavy metal drummer in her youth and an admirer of Margaret Thatcher, became Japan's fifth prime minister in as many years in October.