* Abe has shifted debate from fiscal tightening to stimulus
* Government looking at vouchers among steps to spur consumption
By Tetsushi Kajimoto and Izumi Nakagawa
TOKYO, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is signalling that retooling Japan's economy with painful structural reforms must take a back seat to reviving growth, even though he is poised to win a big referendum on his economic policies in an election on Sunday.
In the three weeks since he delayed a sales tax increase and called the election, Abe has shifted the debate from curbing the government's runaway debt to finding ways to stimulate the economy and put more money in voters' hands.
For example, policymakers say they are considering shopping vouchers for lower-income earners that would cover a portion of the cost of goods and services.
Such handouts would resemble vouchers and tax breaks used during the global financial crisis that boosted sales of energy-efficient cars, appliances and housing, officials told Reuters. Those measures had a multiplier effect on spending but were followed by a pullback when the giveaways expired.
Maintaining government spending and massive yen-printing by the Bank of Japan while putting off thorny economic reforms could mean Japan is left with an ever growing debt pile and little improvement in the economy's long-term growth potential.
Some investors are betting that a seemingly endless postponement of reform could be calamitous, with a collapse in the yen and uncontrolled inflation.
Abe's coalition is on course to keep or even expand its two-thirds majority in the lower house of parliament, opinion polls show. And while many investors hope he will use his mandate to press ahead with reforms ranging from easing labour market restrictions to cutting agricultural protection, the government is instead looking at ways to get people to spend.
This suggests Abe may double down on the first two "arrows" in his policy quiver, stimulus spending and printing more money, with little enthusiasm for the third arrow of deregulation and reform.
A resounding election victory and the prospect of a long term in office would eventually make vested interests more prone to compromise on reform, said Eurasia Group analysts Scott Seaman and Ross Schaap.
"That said, we still do not expect Abe to force rapid, near-term progress on structural reform," they said in a report.
On the campaign trail, Abe says he remains committed to all three arrows. But while the summary of his party's platform emphasises economic recovery, promises fiscal reform and even prominently cites tourism promotion, there is no mention of structural reforms.