TOKYO -- Voters have begun heading to the polls for Japan's general election, which will determine whether Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will remain in office amid sluggish economic growth and lingering COVID concerns.

This is the country's first national election in more than two years, and voter turnout is expected to increase from under 55% for the two previous general elections. Greater voter participation tends to produce favorable results for the opposition.

The election's results will serve as a public verdict on the government's handling of the COVID-19 crisis and the ensuing economic slump. Kishida was elected as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party last month, replacing Yoshihide Suga, whose public support waned due to his handling of the pandemic and his insistence on holding the Olympics.

At stake are 465 seats in the lower house, the more powerful chamber of Japan's bicameral parliament. About two-thirds of the seats are filled by candidates from single-seat constituencies, with the remainder chosen by proportional representation.

Despite having a new leader in Kishida, the ruling LDP is widely expected to lose ground. The conservative party had 276 seats before Kishida dissolved the lower house on Oct. 14. It has stayed in power for much of the postwar period.

The focus will be on whether the LDP will be able to finish with at least 233 seats for a single-party majority. A loss of majority control could significantly weaken the Kishida government, formed on Oct. 4, and lead to short-lived governments, as was the case before Shinzo Abe became prime minister in 2012, in the wake of the Fukushima disasters.

Abe remained as prime minister until 2020.

Komeito, the LDP's junior coalition partner, had 29 seats before the house was dissolved. Kishida's goal is for the parties to combine for a simple majority.

The LDP faces a much tougher electoral challenge from a unified opposition. The Constitutional Democratic Party, the biggest opposition group, with 112 seats, has formed an electoral coalition with other parties to avoid splitting the liberal vote. Until the dissolution, the opposition camp was divided, with a number of small parties competing not only against the conservative majority but also among themselves. This allowed the LDP and the lay Buddhist-backed Komeito to take advantage of their strong support bases.

The CDP is the successor to the Democratic Party of Japan, which was in power from 2009 to 2012, when three prime ministers came and went. Many former DPJ cabinet ministers are in the CDP, including its leader, Yukio Edano.