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Japan PM Aso calls election, risks historic defeat
Tue Jul 21, 2009 1:30am EDT
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By Yoko Kubota and Yoko Nishikawa
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso dissolved parliament's lower house on Tuesday for an election on August 30 and vowed to restore voters' faith in his fractious ruling party, which polls show is in danger of a historic defeat.
A victory by the opposition Democratic Party of Japan would end more than 50 years of near-unbroken rule by the conservative Liberal Democratic Party and raise the chances of breaking a deadlock caused by a divided parliament that has stymied policy implementation as Japan struggles to emerge from recession.
It would also usher in a government pledging to pay more heed to consumers than companies, to wrest control of policy from bureaucrats to cut waste, and to adopt a diplomatic stance less subservient to close ally the United States.
"This is a major, revolutionary election to allow politicians to take the lead in Japanese government," Democratic Party leader Yukio Hatoyama told party members.
"We should face it with a sense of historic mission."
Many investors in Japanese financial markets would welcome an end to the prolonged political stalemate, but some analysts worry that the Democrats' spending plans will inflate an already huge public debt and likely push up government bond yields.
"I think that for the short-term, hope that the Democrats taking power will cure the parliamentary paralysis and lead to smooth passage of bills and policies will outweigh any worries about uncertainty," said Noritsugu Hirakawa, a strategist at Okasan Securities.
"Over the longer term, there's questions about how the Democrats will fund all their social programs, and this may eventually weigh on the market."
A spate of opinion polls show the Democrats well ahead of Aso's LDP among voters, though close to 30 percent are still undecided.
For a graphic tracking the polls, click:
here
PARTY CHAOS
Aso's announcement of his election plan last week -- one day after the LDP was trounced in a closely watched Tokyo assembly poll -- sparked chaos in the LDP, with critics trying to oust him from the top party post.
Party heavyweights blocked the move, but agreed Aso should appear at a meeting of LDP lawmakers to hear their complaints.
In remarks carried live on nationwide TV, Aso apologized for his failings and admitted that the party's internal chaos had contributed to recent local election losses. Continued...
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