Government under pressure as Japan votes
Japan’s voters today went to the polls in hotly contested parliamentary elections in which the ruling conservative party, battered by a struggling economy and voter desire for change after more than half a century of virtual one-party rule, was expected to suffer an overwhelming defeat.
The Liberal Democratic Party, which has governed Japan for all but 11 months since 1955, went into the elections with all major polls projecting it would lose control of the lower house of parliament.
That would likely mean the fall of Prime Minister Taro Aso and his Cabinet and the creation of a new government headed by centrist Democratic Party of Japan chief Yukio Hatoyama – who would become the first prime minister not backed by the Liberal Democrats since 1994.
The vote is widely seen as a barometer of two related issues – voter frustrations over the ailing economy, which is in one of its worst slumps since the Second World War, and a loss of confidence in the Liberal Democrats’ ability to tackle tough problems such as the rising national debt and rapidly ageing population.
Mr Hatoyama, 62, urged a crowd in his final campaign speech yesterday to “have the courage to do away with the old politics.
“A change may not come overnight, but we will definitely make it happen,” he said.
Trying to cut the ruling party’s losses, Mr Aso – whose own support ratings have sagged to a dismal 20% – called on voters in his final pitch to stick with his party, saying the Democrats are untested and unable to lead.
Polls by major newspapers said Mr Hatoyama’s party is likely to win more than 320 seats in the 480-seat lower house, sharply higher than the 112 it held before parliament was dissolved in July.
