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Japanese Parliament Dissolved, Election on August 30

by swu | July 21, 2009 at 01:05 am

201 views | 36 Recommendations | 8 comments

Taro Aso, the Prime Minister of Japan, dissolved parliament on Tuesday. The national election is set for August 30, 2009.

Opinion polls show that Aso's conservative ruling party, Liberal Democractic Party (LDP), could face a historic defeat to the opposition, Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).

Election

A victory by DPJ would end the 5 decades rule of the LDP, and could break the political deadlock caused by a divided parliament. Opinion polls indicate that Yukio Hatoyama's DPJ is well ahead of Aso's LDP, but close to 30% are still undecided.

A spate of opinion polls show the Democrats well ahead of Aso's LDP among voters, though close to 30 percent are still undecided.

A poll conducted by the Asahi Shimbun daily over the weekend of about 1,000 respondents showed a support rate of 31% for his party, well above 20% for the LDP. Nearly half said they preferred a new administration led by the DPJ, while only 22% said they wanted to see an LDP-led government continue.

Some analysts worry that DPJ's spending plan on social programs could further inflate the already huge public debt, but the end of political stalemate could bring foward the much needed actions in response to the recession.

A victory in the election would give the DPJ a solid control of parliament as the party and its allies already hold a majority in the upper house, less powerful of the two chambers. The DPJ's campaign platform features policies that favor families and consumers, such as paying monthly subsidies to families with young children and eliminating expressway tolls. The party also pledges to shrink the government to cut costs and reduce the influence of bureaucrats in policy making. On diplomacy, DPJ politicians have advocated a more arm's length relationship with the U.S.

Internal Conflicts

Aso's position started deteriorating since the LDP lost the Tokyo city council election in July. Rebels within the party had attempted to replace him before he could dissolve the parliament, but the move was blocked by party heavyweights.

Despite leading in polls, the Democratic Party has its own problems. Internal differences and scandals could quickly shift the public opinion. Earlier this year, the party's former leader, Ichiro Ozawa, resigned over fundraising scandals. The current leader, Yukio Hatoyama, recently apologized for listing deceased individuals as political donors.

the main opposition party is far from cohesive, made up of LDP defectors on the right through to former socialists on the left, and its path to power is not assured.

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albertacowpoke

at 01:56 on July 21st, 2009

Thanks for this swu. Please keep us posted on the election campaign and the issues. Good report.

swu

at 08:08 on July 21st, 2009

Thanks, I'll keep an eye on the new developments.

Maireid Sullivan

at 04:24 on July 21st, 2009

5 decades of rule is too long. I don't believe it is healthy for any political party to stay in power that long. I hope they can make a positive change.

Paschen

at 04:39 on July 21st, 2009

Japan's political scene seems some what paralysed for the past two decades. Aso has less then 10% approval rating now and I doubt he will survives politically.

swu

at 08:10 on July 21st, 2009

How about political apathy among the younger generations? I wonder if that's especially the case in Japan.

Paschen

at 08:20 on July 21st, 2009

Yes, it is mainly because of the large discrepancy between the Baby Boom Generation that runs the country and the youth that find them self in a minority with out political impact, wish is a first in Human history and comes with the low birth rates since the 60s.

Giving us a reverse population pyramid, wish is not healthy for any nation. This does cause a lack of interest in politics because the youth feels that there vote does not count so why bother.

On the other hand you have movements like the Freitar that are growing in numbers and supporters. This may reverse the trend in the long run.

http://my.nowpublic.com/world/freitar-uprising-japan

Fov

at 05:15 on July 21st, 2009

How about communist party? haha

Paschen

at 05:26 on July 21st, 2009

We do have a Communist Party here as well as a Socialist Party, and even though they have made some gains in the last two years, they are still the two smaller parties along with the ultra conservative.

I would personally favour a coalition between the Socialist and Communist with the DPJ.

It would be a powerful government and may very well make the much needed changes as well as move Japan away from the US. Wish would be a good thing in my view.