(03/02/09) -

Opposition DPJ Still Dominant in Japan

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Japan’s long-governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) still trails the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), according to a poll by Nikkei. 42 per cent of respondents would vote for the DPJ in the next election to the House of Representatives, while 26 per cent would support the LDP.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Japan’s long-governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) still trails the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), according to a poll by Nikkei. 42 per cent of respondents would vote for the DPJ in the next election to the House of Representatives, while 26 per cent would support the LDP.

Aside from a brief period in the 1990s, the LDP has administered Japan’s government for more than five decades. An election to renew half of the House of Councillors seats took place in July 2007. Final results gave the DPJ 60 of the 121 seats at stake, with the governing LDP winning 37 mandates. The opposition—with 137 seats—now holds a majority in the upper house of Japan’s Diet for the first time since the LDP was founded in 1955.

Since the retirement of Junichiro Koizumi, Japan has had three different LDP leaders and prime ministers. Shinzo Abe served from September 2006 to September 2007, and was replaced by Yasuo Fukuda. In September 2008, Fukuda announced he would step down as he felt "swamped" by the country’s issues. Foreign minister Taro Aso won an internal leadership ballot and was sworn in as Japan’s new prime minister.

Earlier this month, DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa hinted at scaling down the U.S. military presence in Japan, saying, "If Japan is prepared to take care on its own issues that are relevant to itself, then there is no need for the United States to forward deploy to such an extent in Japan."

LDP member and current chief cabinet secretary Takeo Kawamura disagreed with Ozawa, declaring, "The Japanese government thinks that to limit just [the U.S. Navy’s] 7th Fleet is unrealistic. Is it appropriate for the Democratic Party leader, who is advocating for an administration change, to have such an idea under the current U.S.-Japan security alliance?"

The next election to the House of Representatives must be held on or before Sept. 6, 2009. Sitting prime ministers can dissolve the Diet and call an early ballot at their discretion.

Polling Data

Which party would you vote for in the next election to the House of Representatives?

Source: Nikkei
Methodology: Interviews with 925 Japanese adults, conducted on Feb. 21 and Feb. 22, 2009. No margin of error was provided.