Japan PM’s woes deepen with poll defeat

TOKYO – Unpopular Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso’s woes mounted yesterday after the ruling bloc lost a closely watched regional vote and a survey showed the main opposition party leading ahead of a looming general election.

Aso’s popularity has tumbled as he struggles with a deepening recession and a fractious party, and fresh surveys suggested the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) may well win an election for parliament’s lower house expected by September.
That would end more than five decades of nearly unbroken rule by the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and bring to power a party pledged to reduce bureaucratic clout over policies and take a diplomatic stance more independent of ally Washington.
A series of policy flip-flops and gaffes have pushed Aso’s approval ratings to below 20 per cent, a figure reaffirmed by two poll published by Japanese newspapers yesterday.
Asked which party they plan to cast their ballots for in the next general election, 40 per cent of voters opted for the Democrats against 21 per cent for the LDP, a survey by the Nikkei business daily showed. – Nampa-Reuters