(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has a good chance at returning to power in the next election, according to a poll by Yomiuri. 41 per cent of respondents would give their proportional representation vote to the DPJ in the next legislative election, up 11 points since April.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has a good chance at returning to power in the next election, according to a poll by Yomiuri. 41 per cent of respondents would give their proportional representation vote to the DPJ in the next legislative election, up 11 points since April.
The governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is a distant second with 27 per cent. 32 per cent of respondents would vote for another party or are undecided.
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 opposition 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.
On May 13, Ichiro Ozawa, leader of the opposition DPJ, tendered his resignation over a fund-raising scandal. On that same day, deputy chief cabinet secretary Yoshitada Konoike—a close aide to Aso—stepped down after a news publication revealed that he took his mistress on a holiday using an official rail travel pass.
On May 16, Yukio Hatoyama defeated Katsuya Okada in an internal ballot of DPJ lawmakers to become the new DPJ leader.
Earlier this month, just before being elected as new DPJ chief, Hatoyama declared: "I will bring about a regime change for sure." Hatoyama added that the keyword of his platform would be "compassion."
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 proportional representation election?
|
|
May 2009 |
Apr. 2009 |
|
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) |
41% |
30% |
|
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) |
27% |
27% |
|
Other / Not sure |
32% |
43% |
Source: Yomiuri
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,059 Japanese adults, conducted on May 16 and May 17, 2009. No margin of error was provided.
