April 21, 2008The largest opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) candidate is leading the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) candidate during the first half of the campaign for a House of Representatives by-election in Yamaguchi Prefecture, according to a Mainichi survey.
Hideo Hiraoka, 54, of the DPJ, who was previously elected to the chamber through the proportional representation system, has gained larger support than his LDP rival, Shigetaro Yamamoto, 59, a former high-ranking official of the Cabinet Secretariat.
However, the poll suggests that about 30 percent of the constituents have not decided whom they should vote for.
The Mainichi Shimbun conducted the survey over the weekend jointly with TV Yamaguchi about the campaign for the by-election in Yamaguchi No. 2 constituency, covering 515 voters randomly selected from the electoral district. The April 27 election has been called to fill the seat vacated by LDP legislator Yoshihiko Fukuda, who successfully ran in the Iwakuni mayoral race.
Hiraoka has secured support from approximately 90 percent of DPJ backers in the district, about 50 percent of those who support no particular political party. He is also backed by some supporters of ruling coalition party Komeito.
Yamamoto has won support from roughly 70 percent of LDP backers and nearly 60 percent of Komeito fans, but only 20 percent of those supporting no particular party.
In the poll, 70 percent of supporters for the Japanese Communist Party, which did not field any candidate in the ongoing race, expressed support for Hiraoka.
More than half of the pollees expressed opposition to the ruling coalition's plan to ram a bill through the Lower House to revive a provisional gasoline tax to finance road construction projects, which had been rejected by the opposition-controlled House of Councillors. About 70 percent of those who voiced opposition said they will vote for Hiraoka.
Under Article 59 of the Constitution, a bill passed by the Lower House but rejected by the Upper House becomes law if passed a second time by the Lower House by a majority of two-thirds of its members present. The ruling coalition has more than two-thirds of seats in the chamber.
(Mainichi Japan) April 21, 2008
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