In Japan snap elections, voters back Abe's economic reforms Japanese exit ...

Tokyo (CNN) -- Japanese voters have gone to the polls Sunday after the country unexpectedly slipped into a recession.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe described the snap parliamentary elections as a referendum on his flagship economic policies.

News of the recession dealt a blow to his much-vaunted 'Abenomics' -- the stimulus and economic reform package he introduced since taking power in 2012.

'The election will be held to ask the public whether we will (move) forward with Abenomics or end it,' Abe said in November, when he announced the closure of parliament.

Recent polls have shown that Abe's Liberal Democratic Party has a strong lead over the main opposition party, but turnout is expected to be low.

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An election wasn't actually required until late 2016. And many have wondered why Abe, with a sizable majority in the lower house -- 295 out of the 475 seats -- would risk ceding power so early.

E. Keith Henry, analyst and founder of Asia Strategy, a Tokyo-based government policy consulting group, said he found the timing 'puzzling.'

'Why call an election when you have such a dominant position?' he asked.

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Indeed, polls suggest most of the public doesn't understand why Abe has called for an election now, and many are critical of the decision to incur the cost during a period of recession.

Polls show the ruling LDP party has about 30% support, and the main opposition party -- the Democratic Party of Japan -- has between 10% and 13% support.

The LDP has been in power almost consistently since 1955. During that period, the DPJ has only governed twice -- briefly in the 1990s and again from 2009 to 2012.

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Ultimately, Abe's election gamble will pay off if he can convince the average person that his economic policies will benefit ordinary Japanese.

While a key component of Abenomics has been extra government spending, a sales tax hike this year and rising costs have taken their toll on small businesses and their customers.

In a bit to boost his election fortunes, Abe delayed a sales tax hike planned for October 2015. His special adviser on economic affairs, Etsuro Honda, has called for a further $25 billion in cash handout stimulus and tax cuts to kickstart the economy.

But it's not clear whether that will be enough to satisfy voters.

'Abenomics is no good at all,' said Shuichi Kobayashi, the fourth-generation owner of a 100 year-old tofu shop in Tokyo.

He said the recent economic conditions are a threat to his livelihood.

'Our life is getting tough.'

READ MORE: Japan elections: Is Abenomics working? It depends who you ask

CNN's Euan McKirdy, Yoko Wakatsuki, Holly Yan, Andrew Stevens and Naomi Ng contributed to this report.

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