TOKYO: Japanese voters swept to power an untested center-left party Sunday in an electoral avalanche that ended more than half a century of almost unbroken conservative rule.
The opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), led by Yukio Hatoyama, was set to storm home with more than 300 seats in the 480-seat lower house of Parliament, according to exit polls of major television stations.
Voters frustrated with the government’s handling of Japan’s worst postwar recession punished Prime Minister Taro Aso and forced the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from office for only the second time since 1955.
In Washington, the White House said it expected a “strong alliance” with the incoming government and hoped to hold early consultations with Tokyo, including on the standoff with nuclear-armed North Korea. “We are confident that the strong US-Japan alliance and the close partnership between our two countries will continue to flourish under the leadership of the next government in Tokyo,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement.
The exit polls indicate the soft-spoken Hatoyama, 62, will take over as prime minister at a time when the world’s No. 2 economy is just emerging from recession and still struggling with record unemployment.
Hatoyama, a US-trained engineering scholar and scion of an old political dynasty, campaigned on a promise of change and people-centered politics against the business-friendly LDP, headed by fellow political blueblood Aso.
“Today the people of Japan have taken courage to choose a change in the rule of government, and for that I am thankful,” said Hatoyama, expected to be elected prime minister in a Diet session in mid-September.
In a post-midnight address, Hatoyama vowed “a shift from old politics to new politics — that is, a new government that centers on the people.” He reiterated his belief that capitalism needs to be softened and said: “We should not treat market fundamentalism as the answer to everything.”
Aso said he would resign as head of the LDP to “take the responsibility” for his party’s crushing defeat. “We have to make a fresh start swiftly by holding a (party) presidential election,” he added.
The DPJ has promised better social welfare, which it says would help recession-hit families, boost domestic demand and raise the birth rate to reverse a projected decline of Japan’s fast-graying population.
In foreign policy, it has signaled a solid but less subservient partnership with traditional ally the United States and a desire to boost its regional ties, promoting a European Union-style Asian community and common currency.
Hatoyama said he would seek to resolve a decades-old territorial dispute over an island chain with Russia, a row which has prevented the two countries from signing a post-World War II peace treaty.
