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Japan Ruling Coalition Loses Seats in Upper House

   VOA News 11 July 2010
   Democratic  Party  of  Japan  Secretary  General  Yukio  Edano  places
   rosettes on the names of winning candidates, 11 Jul 2010

Photo: AP

   Democratic  Party  of  Japan  Secretary  General  Yukio  Edano  places
   rosettes on the names of winning candidates of his party during ballot
   counting  in  the  upper  house parliamentary elections at the party's
   election headquarters in Tokyo, 11 Jul 2010

   Exit polls from Japan's elections Sunday indicate Prime Minister Naoto
   Kan's  ruling  coalition  has  lost  a  majority in the upper house of
   Parliament.

   Japanese news media polls projected that the Democratic Party of Japan
   won  fewer than 50 of the contested seats, less than the 54 they hoped
   to win.

   Final  results  are expected Monday. If the projections are confirmed,
   the ruling coalition will lose the majority in the 242-seat chamber.

   Tokyo  NHK  television  network  quoted  Prime  Minister  Naoto Kan as
   telling  a  lawmaker that he will remain in his position regardless of
   the election results.

   His  Democratic  Party of Japan holds a majority in the powerful lower
   house.

   But  a  loss  of  the  majority  in the upper chamber means the ruling
   coalition could run into deadlocks when trying to pass bills to reduce
   the country's growing public debt.

   The  elections were seen as a referendum on Mr. Kan and his party's 10
   months in office.

   Support  for  the  ruling  center-left  Democratic Party of Japan rose
   after  Mr.  Kan  took office last month, but quickly plunged after the
   new  leader  proposed  doubling  the sales tax from 5 to 10 percent to
   help reduce the national debt.

   During  his  last day of campaigning Saturday, Prime Minister Kan said
   the  sales tax will not be raised without seeking a popular mandate in
   the next lower house election, which must be held by late 2013.

   The  leader  of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party said the prime
   minister has no clear vision of how to revive Japan's financial system
   while protecting the livelihoods of its people.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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