DPJ on way to victory in key election

Monday, April 28, 2008

YAMAGUCHI (Kyodo) The Democratic Party of Japan was poised to beat the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in a Lower House by-election Sunday in Yamaguchi Prefecture, according to exit polls.

The race was widely seen as a litmus test for the Yasuo Fukuda administration.

Photo: Projecting a win: Hideo Hiraoka of the Democratic Party of Japan celebrates Sunday in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, after exit polls showed he was set to take a Lower House by-election seen as a litmus test of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's administration.

The projected victory by Hideo Hiraoka in the first election for a Diet seat since Fukuda became prime minister seven months ago is expected to raise doubts about his leadership and embolden the DPJ to step up its attacks.

Their eyes set on the next general election, both the LDP and the DPJ threw full support behind their candidates during the campaign in the Yamaguchi No. 2 district. The next general election could take place later this year and will be a crucial test for whether the long-ruling LDP can stay in power.

Hiraoka, 54, was also backed by the tiny opposition Social Democratic Party.

"This by-election is the latest demonstration of the public will. I want to see how the Fukuda administration deals with it," Hiraoka said.

The LDP candidate, Shigetaro Yamamoto, 59, a former bureaucrat of the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry, received additional support from the LDP's coalition partner, New Komeito.

With the projected loss, Fukuda, whose support ratings have fallen below the critical 30 percent line in recent media polls, may face criticism from within his party over his handling of the government.

The DPJ is expected to try to take the initiative in the Diet on the back of the "people's will" shown in Sunday's by-election and the House of Councilors election last July, in which the opposition camp won control of the Upper House.

The campaign was surrounded by crucial national issues, including the fierce battle over gasoline and other road-related tax surcharges that expired March 31 due to resistance from the opposition parties.

Regardless of Sunday's outcome, the ruling parties plan to seek passage Wednesday of a tax reform bill that would reinstate the road surcharges by resorting to an overriding vote in the Lower House. Wednesday is the earliest date when such a vote is possible under the Constitution.

To counter such moves, the DPJ will make final arrangements on whether to submit a censure motion against Fukuda in the Upper House. Censure motions are nonbinding, but if passed it would nonetheless be another blow to the government.

The government and the ruling parties have insisted that failure to pass the tax bill would cause serious revenue shortfalls for local governments. But the move to reinstate the surcharges, about ¥25 per liter of gasoline, could trigger a public backlash.

While calling for abolishment of the surcharges, the opposition camp has also stepped up criticism over a new health insurance system for people aged 75 and older that took effect April 1.

The system has triggered complaints among the elderly, regarded as a key part of Fukuda's base, over premium deductions from pension benefits and bureaucratic blunders.

A sense of distrust over such government policies apparently helped the DPJ in the Yamaguchi race.

Issues that also attracted attention in the campaign included a planned relocation of U.S. carrier-borne fighter jets to a base in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, which is in the No. 2 district, from Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture.