Japan government faces big election loss: exit polls

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Japan government faces big election loss: exit polls
Sun Jul 29, 2007 7:27AM EDT

By Linda Sieg

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's
conservative ruling camp was headed for a devastating
election defeat on Sunday that could well force the
52-year-old leader to resign, media exit polls showed.

The election for half the seats in parliament's 242-member
upper house is the first nationwide electoral test since
Abe took over as prime minister 10 months ago, pledging
to boost Japan's global security profile, rewrite its pacifist
constitution and nurture economic growth.

Public broadcaster NHK said Abe's Liberal Democratic Party
(LDP) and its partner, the New Komeito, were seen winning
between 39 and 55 of the 64 seats needed to keep their
majority in the upper house, where half of the 242 seats
are up for grabs. The New Komeito had aimed for 13 seats.

-snip-

Abe's coalition will not be ousted from government if it
loses in the upper house, since it has a huge majority in
the more powerful lower chamber, which elects the premier.

But laws will be hard to enact, threatening policy deadlock.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUST26506820070729

[Joanne98]

1. Does anyone know why the conservatives are getting thrown out?

[Eugene]

2. Abe's cabinet has been plagued by scandals

along with some high-profile gaffes.

From a new Associated Press article...

Less than a year in office, doubt swirls around Abe's future

The Associated Press
Published: July 29, 2007

-snip-

Abe's choice of ministers has been the main factor
behind the party's problems.

Since taking office, he had been dogged by scandals in
his Cabinet. His agriculture minister killed himself amid
allegations he misused public funds. His defense minister
suggested that the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki were unavoidable, and was promptly sacked.
Then his new agriculture minister also found himself
embroiled in a funds scandal.

-snip-

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/29/asia/AS-GEN-Japan-Elections-Abes-Future.php

[Kagemusha]

4. The public was not consulted on a full return to conservatism after Koizumi.

They got scammed by Koizumi's campaign when they voted for him in the last upper and lower house elections, because of the new face and promise of a new approach. This is a new but boring face with the promise of a tired approach, and the public, finally given a chance to render a verdict, gave a big thumbs down.

Because they never wanted this. It happened in spite of public will, not because of it.

Oh and, extending Japan's non-combat military commitment to Iraq by two whole years wasn't exactly popular either.

[jordi_fanclub]

3. So, "utter defeat"

Japanese PM Shinzo Abe has accepted his ruling Liberal Democratic Party has suffered "utter defeat" in polls for the upper house of parliament.
Projections suggest the LDP will lose control of the chamber for the first time in more than 50 years - handing a landslide victory to the opposition.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6920842.stm

NOTE - LDP-Liberal Democratic Party MEANS right-wing conservative in Japan's politics
List of political parties: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_Japan

[LiberalFighter]

5. It looks like the Japanese use paper ballots

Could it be they don't trust electronic voting machines?

[jordi_fanclub]

6. Landslide!

(message edited to update results)

Final results online: http://www.nhk.or.jp/english/
OR
One picture says more than thousand words...

[Kagemusha]

7. Those are indeed landslide level numbers.

I'm trying to keep this in perspective - upper house opposition majorities are often pounded as undemocratic restraint on majority rule - but one wonders how many more big plans Abe will be able to implement like this. Not much, you'd think.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

10. They do use paper ballots

That has been shown to increase the reliability of exit polls. :-)

[LiberalFighter]

13. I bet they count the ballots at the voting place instead of a central location too

[daleo]

8. But Kerry won the exit polls in 2004

It is interesting how the validity of exit polls is so fluid.

[Eugene]

9. Fujimori loses Japan election bid

Source: BBC News

Last Updated: Sunday, 29 July 2007, 22:44 GMT 23:44 UK

Fujimori loses Japan election bid

Ex-Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori has failed in his bid
to win a seat in the upper house of Japan's parliament.

Mr Fujimori - who has dual Japanese and Peruvian citizenship
- ran his campaign from Chile where he is under house arrest,
fighting extradition to Peru.

The 68-year-old was running for office with a small opposition
group, the People's New Party, formed in 2005.

Mr Fujimori sought asylum in Japan after his government
collapsed amid a corruption scandal seven years ago.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6921527.stm

[lovuian]

11. We are seeing a resurgence of Socialism everywhere

India and other places

[Vidar]

12. Sounds like good news.