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Japan election campaign kicks off for historic change

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-08-18 15:39

TOKYO: Japan on Tuesday officially kicks off the campaign for the Aug. 30 House of Representatives election, with the opposition eyeing to oust the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) for a historic change of government.

Japanese Prime Minister and the leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party Taro Aso (L), and Yukio Hatoyama, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, attend a debate with other party leaders at the National Press Club, in Tokyo, Japan, Aug. 17, 2009. The six party leaders held a debate prior to the lower house election scheduled on Aug. 30. [Xinhua]

Public opinion polls have shown the main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), enjoyed higher support rate from eligible voters. Political observers also believe that DPJ has a good chance of winning the election over the long-dominant LDP.

The LDP has ruled Japan for more than half a century since 1955, with the only exception of about 10 months from 1993 to 1994.

The general election is scheduled to be held around four years after September 2005, when the LDP scored a landslide victory under then popular Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

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However, since Koizumi, the LDP has run into crisis on a lot of fronts. Prime Minister Taro Aso is already the country's third premier since the Koizumi stepped down in 2006.

DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama has vowed to end "bureaucracy-led politics". The opposition, which had 112 seats at the time of the Diet dissolution, will need to secure 129 additional seats to give it a bare majority with 241 seats in the lower chamber.

DPJ has already won a string of local elections, including the key Tokyo metropolitan assembly election, which is seen as a barometer for the lower house election.

Roughly 1,300 people are expected to file their candidacies with election boards from 8:30 am to 5 pm to vie for the 480 lower house seats -- 300 for single-seat districts and 180 for proportional-representation constituencies, according to Kyodo News.

On Tuesday morning, Aso and Hatoyama are set to deliver their first official speeches at Tokyo and Osaka respectively.

Aso is expected to question the DPJ's ability to govern, while Hatoyama will likely emphasize the need to get rid of Japan's bureaucracy-oriented policy-making structure and pursue policies more focused on the people.

The Diet, or Japanese parliament, has been divided since the DPJ became the largest force in the House of Councilors after the 2007 upper house election. Since then the dysfunctional handling of Diet business has been repeatedly pointed out.