January 26, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) remains the most popular political organization in the Asian country, according to a poll by Mainichi. 44 per cent of respondents would vote for the opposition party in the next legislative election, down two points since December.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) remains the most popular political organization in the Asian country, according to a poll by Mainichi. 44 per cent of respondents would vote for the opposition party in the next legislative election, down two points since December.

The governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is second with 33 per cent, unchanged since last month.

In the September 2005 House of Representatives ballot, the LDP—led at the time by Junichiro Koizumi—elected 296 lawmakers to the 480-seat lower house. The LDP is supported by the New Komeito Clean Government Party (Kt).

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.

In September 2007, Yasuo Fukuda was elected as the new leader of the LDP and officially sworn in as Japan’s prime minister, substituting Shinzo Abe. Fukuda served as chief cabinet secretary during the premierships of Yoshiro Mori and Koizumi. He is also the son of former Japanese head of government Takeo Fukuda.

On Jan. 23, Fukuda urged legislators to pass a series of proposed budget bills, saying this could help Japan buffer an imminent global financial crisis. The prime minister assured that the country’s economy is in good shape and will not suffer much from the international crisis, adding, "The impact of the subprime lending issue on Japanese financial institutions is limited. We’ll need to watch economic trends closely, including those in the United States and financial markets in other countries."

An election to the House of Representatives is technically not due before 2009, but differences in the legislature could trigger an early ballot.

Polling Data

Which party would you like to win the next legislative election?

	Jan. 2008	Dec. 2007
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ)	44%	46%
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)	33%	33%
Other / Not sure	23%	21%

Source: Mainichi
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,031 Japanese adults, conducted on Jan. 19 and Jan. 20, 2008. No margin of error was provided.