Japan PM seen losing upper house election

Tokyo, July 20: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition is likely to lose a July 29 upper house election, a telephone survey by the Asahi Shimbun daily showed today.

The result is in line with other polls showing Abe's coalition losing support after a mishandling of pension records and a series of scandals and gaffes that led two ministers to resign and one to commit suicide.

Abe would not have to automatically step down if the ruling coalition lost its majority in the upper house, but a big defeat would make it hard to enact laws and put pressure on the once-popular leader to resign.

The number of seats the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was likely to win ranged from 33 to 47, according to the survey conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday. The LDP's junior coalition partner, the New Komeito party, was seen clinching six to 13 seats.

The figures mean that even in the best case scenario, the ruling coalition would win just 60 seats, although the Asahi said the election was uncertain because many voters were undecided.

The ruling coalition needs to win 64 seats to keep their majority in the upper house, where half of the 242 seats are up for grabs.

Another newspaper survey showed public support for Abe's cabinet rose, but that more voters planned to cast their ballots for the main opposition Democratic Party than for the LDP.

The cabinet support rate rose to 34.8 per cent, a poll by the Yomiuri Shimbun daily on July 17-19 showed, up 4.6 points from a week earlier.

But the percentage of respondents who said they would vote for the LDP in the proportional representation seats came to 20 percent, while those who said they would vote for the Democratic Party stood at 28 percent.

Reuters>