(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is holding a comfortable lead over the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the Asian country, according to a poll by Yomiuri. 39 per cent of respondents would vote for the DPJ in this month’s election to the House of Representatives, while 22 per cent would support the LDP.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is holding a comfortable lead over the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the Asian country, according to a poll by Yomiuri. 39 per cent of respondents would vote for the DPJ in this month’s election to the House of Representatives, while 22 per cent would support the LDP.
However, the election outcome is far from clear, as 39 per cent of respondents remain undecided or plan to support smaller parties.
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.
In May, Yukio Hatoyama defeated Katsuya Okada in an internal ballot of DPJ lawmakers to become the new DPJ leader.
On Aug. 4, Okada, who now serves as the DPJ’s secretary general, said that improving Sino-Japanese relations would be a priority in an eventual administration, declaring, "The mainstream consensus within the DPJ is that the relations between Japan and China is very important. I believe if the DPJ becomes the ruling party, the relations will be further improved."
The next election to the House of Representatives will take place on Aug. 30.
Polling Data
Which party would you vote for in the House of Representatives election?
|
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) |
39% |
|
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) |
22% |
|
Other / Not sure |
39% |
Source: Yomiuri
Methodology: Interviews with 1,037 Japanese voters, conducted on Aug. 1 and Aug. 2, 2009. No margin of error was provided.
