(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) holds a commanding lead over the opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) just days before an upper house election takes place in Japan, according to a poll by Mainichi. 40 per cent of respondents would support the DPJ in the proportional representation block of the House of Councillors election.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) holds a commanding lead over the opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) just days before an upper house election takes place in Japan, according to a poll by Mainichi. 40 per cent of respondents would support the DPJ in the proportional representation block of the House of Councillors election.
The LDP is far behind with 17 per cent. 43 per cent of respondents remain undecided or will back other parties.
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.
On Jun. 2, the DPJ’s Yukio Hatoyama tendered his resignation, citing a broken election promise over the permanence of an American army base in the Okinawa prefecture. Hatoyama had also been embroiled in a corruption scandal over campaign funding irregularities.
On Jun. 8, Naoto Kan, a former finance minister, took over as prime minister. Since the retirement of Junichiro Koizumi in September 2006, Japan has had five different heads of government: Shinzo Abe, Yasuo Fukuda and Taro Aso of the LDP; and Hatoyama and Kan of the DPJ.
Kan is calling for fiscal reforms to alleviate Japan’s growing debt, including a proposal to raise the five per cent sales tax. On Jul. 7, the prime minister suggested that his government might look into increasing income taxes as well, declaring, "The income tax has become less effective in terms of income redistribution. Depending on the situation, we might need a debate."
The election to renew half of the seats in Japan’s upper house is scheduled for Jul. 11.
Polling Data
Which party would you vote for in the proportional representation block of the House of Councillors election?
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Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ)
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40%
|
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Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)
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17%
|
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Other / Undecided
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43%
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Source: Mainichi
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,089 Japanese adults, conducted on Jun. 27 and Jun. 28, 2010. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
