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Pressure builds on Japan PM; calls to quit may grow
Thu Jul 16, 2009 3:05am EDT
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By Isabel Reynolds and Yoko Nishikawa
TOKYO (Reuters) - Pressure mounted on Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso on Thursday after ruling party lawmakers called for a meeting to debate the party's ailing fortunes at which his harshest critics are expected to seek his resignation.
Aso's plan for an election on August 30 -- announced just a day after the opposition Democrats trounced the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in a Tokyo metropolitan vote -- has sparked chaos in the ruling party.
Surveys show the opposition Democratic Party will win the national election, which must be held by October.
Only 16.3 percent of respondents to a poll published by Jiji news agency on Thursday said they supported Aso and his cabinet, down 7.8 percentage points from a similar poll a month ago.
Asked which party they would vote for in the election, 37.4 percent opted for the Democrats and 19.5 percent for the LDP.
A Democrat victory would end more than 50 years of almost unbroken rule by the business-friendly LDP and improve chances of resolving a policy deadlock caused by a divided parliament, where the opposition controls the upper house and can delay bills.
A petition demanding the meeting of LDP lawmakers was handed to LDP Secretary-General Hiroyuki Hosoda, top government spokesman Takeo Kawamura told reporters.
Under party rules, the meeting must be held within seven days, although Aso could dissolve the lower house first.
Kawamura said Aso was ready to respond if the meeting was held, but would likely stick to his election plan.
"Our term of office is fixed and the prime minister's choice of August 30 is close to the deadline," he added. "I don't think the prime minister will change his mind."
Aso has come under fire for a series of policy flip-flops and gaffes at a time when Japan is suffering its worst recession in 60 years.
In a further sign of disarray, Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano -- widely seen as the architect of the Aso administration's economic policies -- and Agriculture Minister Shigeru Ishiba are among those who signed the petition.
The two met the premier on Wednesday to press home their views on the party's difficulties following the loss in the Tokyo assembly election.
It was not clear, however, how many of those who signed the petition want to ditch Aso.
ASO HANGS ON Continued...
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