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Support for opposition LDP slips in Japan
Source: Agencies |
November 20, 2012, Tuesday
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JAPAN'S main opposition Liberal Democratic Party saw its voter support slip, but still maintained a commanding lead against rivals, including the ruling Democratic Party, ahead of a December election, public opinion polls showed yesterday.
The Nikkei business daily survey said 25 percent of those polled said they would vote for the LDP in a lower house election on December 16, while 16 percent would vote for the Democratic Party of Japan.
The LDP figure represented a loss of 2 percentage points from the previous Nikkei poll, while the DPJ gained 5 percentage points.
More significantly, poll figures showed the new Japan Restoration Party, led by Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, earned 11 percent support and the Sunrise Party, led by nationalist former Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara, stood at 4 percent.
A Kyodo news agency poll credited the Japan Restoration Party with 6.8 percent and Sunrise with 1 percent.
Over the weekend, the two new parties agreed to merge under the 80-year-old Ishihara's leadership, despite serious policy gaps, such as the role of nuclear power in Japan's energy mix.
Analysts see the election ushering in a period of confusing coalition politics, partly because of a spate of new parties courting voters discontented with the LDP and DPJ and because whoever wins will still lack a majority in parliament's upper house, which can block bills.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda dissolved parliament's lower house last Friday.
The Nikkei business daily survey said 25 percent of those polled said they would vote for the LDP in a lower house election on December 16, while 16 percent would vote for the Democratic Party of Japan.
The LDP figure represented a loss of 2 percentage points from the previous Nikkei poll, while the DPJ gained 5 percentage points.
More significantly, poll figures showed the new Japan Restoration Party, led by Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, earned 11 percent support and the Sunrise Party, led by nationalist former Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara, stood at 4 percent.
A Kyodo news agency poll credited the Japan Restoration Party with 6.8 percent and Sunrise with 1 percent.
Over the weekend, the two new parties agreed to merge under the 80-year-old Ishihara's leadership, despite serious policy gaps, such as the role of nuclear power in Japan's energy mix.
Analysts see the election ushering in a period of confusing coalition politics, partly because of a spate of new parties courting voters discontented with the LDP and DPJ and because whoever wins will still lack a majority in parliament's upper house, which can block bills.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda dissolved parliament's lower house last Friday.
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