Japan votes in key test for PM Takaichi as heavy snow hits turnout

Japanese voters were casting ballots on Sunday in an election expected to hand Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi a resounding win, although record snowfall in parts of the country could keep many voters at home. The conservative coalition of Takaichi, the nation’s first female leader, could win more than 300 of the 465 seats in the lower house of parliament, according to multiple opinion polls, a large gain from the 233 it is defending. If the coalition of Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party with the Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin, wins 310 seats, it would be able to override the opposition-controlled…