JAPAN DECIDES – ELECTION OVERVIEW

apan is set to go to the polls in what could be an historic election.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is expected to lose.

Opinion polls have indicated that the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is well placed to make major gains, possibly ending more than five decades of almost uninterrupted LDP rule.

With four prime ministers in the last four years, critics say the LDP is in disarray and many voters want a major change in government.

Whoever wins the general election will face the challenge of turning Japan’s economic recovery into sustainable growth.

- More than 1,300 candidates competing for 480-seats in lower chamber of the Diet legislature.

- 300 members are elected from single-member constituencies and the remainder through proportional representation.

- Before parliament was dissolved in July, the ruling LDP had 303 seats along with its partner the New Komeito party which held 31.

- The main opposition DPJ had 112 seats, with the rest divided between smaller parties and independents.

- A win by the DPJ would mark a dramatic shift in Japan’s political landscape, which has been dominated by the LDP since 1955.

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