(03/21/10) -

Japanese Turned Off by Two Main Political Parties

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – People in Japan have lost interest in supporting the country’s top two political groups, especially the governing Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), according to a poll by Kyodo News. 26.9 per cent of respondents would vote for the DPJ in the next election to the House of Councillors, down 6.7 points since February.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – People in Japan have lost interest in supporting the country’s top two political groups, especially the governing Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), according to a poll by Kyodo News. 26.9 per cent of respondents would vote for the DPJ in the next election to the House of Councillors, down 6.7 points since February.

The opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is practically tied with 26.3 per cent. 46.8 per cent of respondents would vote for a different party or remain undecided.

In August 2009, Japanese voters renewed the House of Representatives. Final results gave the DPJ a victory with 308 of the 480 lower house seats at stake. Yukio Hatoyama, the DPJ leader, was sworn in as prime minister in September.

Aside from a brief period in the 1990s, the LDP had administered Japan’s government for more than five decades.

The former LDP-led government was marred by corruptions scandals. The new government has been the subject of suspicions as well.

In December, Hatoyama was criticized after it was revealed that political donations registered under the names of several individuals actually came from his mother. The Japanese prime minister has acknowledged receiving a monthly contribution of about $164,000 U.S. from his mother, but vowed to pay back taxes and penalties amounting to about $6.5 million U.S.

In January, three current and former aides of Ichiro Ozawa, the DPJ’s secretary general, were arrested and charged with falsifying information in party fundraising reports. The three men were identified as Mitsutomo Ikeda, current DPJ lawmaker Tomohiro Ishikawa, and Takanori Okubo.

On Mar. 15, Kunio Hatoyama, the prime minister’s brother and a member of the opposition, announced that he would leave the LDP and start a new organization, declaring, "The LDP’s biggest failure is that it was thrown out of power. This country is entering the path of collapse. That cannot be halted by the LDP alone. I decided that it would be good to recruit colleagues so I can work hard in a powerful opposition party."

Prime minister Hatoyama referred to the matter, saying, "It’s my brother’s business, I am not thinking about teaming up with him."

Polling Data

Which party would you vote for in the proportional representation block of the House of Councillors election?