Japan's Abe makes final bid to avert election loss

Tokyo, July 28: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a last-ditch effort to woo voters on today ahead of an upper house election in which his ruling bloc looks set to lose its majority, a result that could cost him his job.

Media projections have forecast the ruling camp to fall short of securing a majority in tomorrow's election, leading to a divided parliament and political paralysis that would give Abe little room to push ahead with his conservative agenda.

In a bid to turn things around and win the hearts of urban voters, many of whom are unaffiliated with any party, Abe went on a final stump tour in Tokyo along with Shintaro Ishihara, the capital's popular governor and former ruling party lawmaker.

''Will reform go ahead or will it go backwards?'' Abe told a crowd of hundreds at a busy shopping and entertainment district in central Tokyo.

''The Democratic Party cannot advance reform,'' Abe, wearing a white shirt but no tie, said from top of a campaign van, referring to the main opposition party.

But some passing voters by did not agree.

''I'd like to see the ruling parties get a black mark. The government isn't functioning well, especially the cabinet, and I think it's Abe's fault,'' said Shunichi Shoji, a 66-year-old white collar worker for a construction company.

''I'd like to see a change in government. We need to give the opposition a chance.''

Sixty-Four Seat Target

In the election, half of the 242 seats in the upper house will be contested, and Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its partner, New Komeito, need 64 seats to keep their majority.

But a survey by the Asahi Shimbun published yesterday predicted that the ruling camp would only win between 38 and 58 seats, with the LDP alone grabbing between 31 and 45 seats.

The 52-year-old Abe became Japan's first prime minister to be born after World War Two when he took power last September, promising to boost the country's role in global security and revise the US-drafted pacifist constitution.

He initially enjoyed public support of around 60 per cent, and in 10 months in office managed to upgrade the defence agency into a full-fledged ministry and passed legislation aimed at instilling discipline and patriotism in schools.

He also won praise for making a fence-mending trip to China and South Korea within weeks of taking office and improving ties that had been frayed under predecessor Junichiro Koizumi.

But a string of gaffes and corruption scandals that led two cabinet members to resign and one to commit suicide, coupled with the government's mishandling of pension records that could result in retirees being shortchanged, have halved his support ratings.

Abe need not step down for an upper house loss as the ruling bloc holds a majority in the more powerful lower house, which chooses the prime minister, but he would face strong pressure within the LDP to resign should the party fail to win 40 seats, analysts have said.

A divided parliament would mean laws would be difficult to pass, and the political confusion may force Abe to call an early election for the lower house, which need not be held until 2009, and open the way for a change of government.

Such a scenario would be a nightmare for the LDP, which has ruled Japan for most of the past five decades and only two years ago scored a massive victory under the popular Koizumi.

Reuters>