Prime Minister Taro Aso Dissolved Lower House

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso dissolved the lower house of parliament for a general election on August 30 (the term of the lower house will expire on September 10 anyway). Public surveys indicate that his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) could well lose to the main opposition, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). This year the LDP has experienced a series of defeats in major local elections and declining support. It will be the first general election since September 2005, when then Prime MInister Junichiro Koizumi, who enjoyed strong popularity throughout his years in office, helped the LDP secure more than 300 seats in the 480-seat chamber. In the event that the DPJ gains a majority, the bureaucrat-initiated policy making system might be replaced by a politician-initiated one. The DPJ's policy is, in general, more populist than that of the LDP so the LDP seeks to throw doubt on how the DPJ will secure financing for their policies when it is well know that populists tend spend freely.

The head of the Japan business Federation expressed that this would be a very important election which would decide Japan's fate. The chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives also noted that this election will be a historic opportunity to select a government.