DPJ Headed for Election Landslide: Jiji Poll

Tokyo, Aug. 24 (Jiji Press)--The major opposition Democratic Party
of Japan could win over 300 of the 480 seats in an election Sunday for the
House of Representatives, the powerful lower chamber of parliament, a Jiji
Press poll showed.

By contrast, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is likely to see
its strength halve from the 300 pre-election seats, the poll conducted
between Friday and Sunday showed.
The LDP, even if seats taken by its junior coalition partner, the
New Komeito, are added, is unlikely to secure a majority.
The poll showed that the DPJ takes the lead in about 220 of the 300
single-seat districts. As for the 180 proportional representative seats, the
party could win 100 seats.
Overall, the DPJ would be able to win more than 320 seats, or the
two-thirds majority that allows the party to enact policies rejected by the
House of Councillors, or the upper chamber.
The LDP fielded 289 candidates for the single-seat districts, but
gains voter support in only slightly less than 70 of them. The number of
proportional representative seats could fall short of 50.
The New Komeito is also facing an uphill battle, finding it
difficult to maintain the 31 pre-election seats.
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