Japan's Embattled PM To Propose "Peace Of Mind Society"

06-25-090411ET

TOKYO (AFP)--Japan's prime minister was set to outline his social policy platform Thursday ahead of key elections as he struggles with low approval ratings, scandal in his cabinet and rebellion in his party.

Conservative leader Taro Aso, who must call a vote by September, was to speak about his social welfare reform plans, including greater support for families, low-income workers, the unemployed and other groups.

But in contrast to the program's catchphrase goal of a "peace of mind society, " his Liberal Democratic Party, or LDP, is in disarray and riven by dissent just months ahead of key parliamentary elections.

Aso's approval ratings have dropped below 20% in most polls, giving the opposition Democratic Party of Japan a good chance of ending more than half a century of almost unbroken LDP rule.

The premier, who has lost three cabinet ministers since he took office last September, this week saw his finance minister accused of taking illegal donations in the latest scandal to hit Japanese politics.

Kaoru Yosano - a key Aso ally and the man charged with steering the economy through Japan's worst postwar recession - denied any wrongdoing following a report his fund-raising group received illegal donations from a futures trading firm.

Frustration has been rife in LDP ranks, with some members reportedly urging Aso to reshuffle cabinet and party positions before the election to give the party a fighting chance at the ballot box.

LDP member Taku Yamamoto has voiced open dissent against Aso's leadership and said he has collected about half of the 216 names needed to file a petition for a party leadership vote.

"If Prime Minister Aso moves to dissolve the house in an act of desperation, I will swiftly gather all the 216 names and move forward a presidential election," he wrote on his Web site.

Aso has kept Japan guessing on when he will dissolve parliament but most pundits expect elections to be held in August or early September.

A bellwether will be Tokyo metropolitan assembly elections on July 12.

The LDP, in its search for fresh faces, this week asked popular comedian- turned-governor Hideo Higashikokubaru to join its ranks.

And Higashikokubaru, the outspoken governor of Miyazaki prefecture, said he would be happy to accept the party's invitation - provided he could lead it.