Japan's Ruling Party Faces Uncertain Majority In Upcoming Election

TOKYO, Oct 17 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- Japan's ruling party may struggle to retain a majority in the Oct 27 House of Representatives election in the wake of a slush fund scandal, while the main opposition is projected to secure more seats than before last week's dissolution of the powerful chamber.

Projections based on a telephone survey of 156,000 eligible voters nationwide and information gathered by a Kyodo News Agency poll, released Wednesday, indicate a tough road ahead for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), despite his pledge to repair the party's tarnished image and regain public trust.

Nearly 30 per cent of respondents in the survey said they have yet to decide which candidate to vote for in the single-seat districts, leaving the final outcome of the race uncertain.

Before Ishiba dissolved the 465-member lower house, the LDP held 256 seats.

Together with its coalition partner, Komeito, the LDP controlled 288 seats. The ruling coalition is aiming to secure at least 233 seats to retain its majority in the upcoming election.

The LDP is leading in only about half of the 289 single-seat districts, with its candidates running neck-and-neck with their rivals in many others.

The party is also expected to lose seats in the proportional representation section, which saw it hold 72 seats before the election campaign began, according to the poll conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday.

-- BERNAMA-KYODO