Taro Aso

Japan's political leaders made final pleas for votes Saturday on the eve of landmark elections expected to end half a century of almost unbroken conservative rule and bring to power a centre-left party. Polls predict the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) will trounce Prime Minister Taro Aso's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has been in power for all but 10 months since its founding in 1955. The DPJ could win more than 300 seats in the 480-seat lower house, the Yomiuri Shimbun...Read Full Story

Japan's embattled Prime Minister Taro Aso on Friday pledged to fix the recession-hit economy and create millions of jobs, seeking to claw back fading support as he heads to the ballot box. Aso's party, which has ruled Japan almost without a break for more than half a century, is lagging badly in opinion polls against the untested centre-left Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) ahead of the crucial August 30 vote. To win over undecided voters, still a third of the electorate, the party promised a...Read Full Story

Japan's embattled Prime Minister Taro Aso on Friday pledged to fix the recession-hit economy and create millions of jobs, seeking to claw back fading support as he heads to the ballot box. Aso's party, which has ruled Japan almost without a break for more than half a century, is lagging badly in opinion polls against the untested centre-left Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) ahead of the crucial August 30 vote. To win over undecided voters, still a third of the electorate, the party promised a...Read Full Story

Japan's embattled prime minister suffered a fresh blow when his ruling party was badly beaten by the opposition in a crucial Tokyo vote that is seen as a bellwether for a coming national election. Prime Minister Taro Aso's Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner lost their majority Sunday in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, the local parliament for the Japanese capital and most populated prefecture. The Tokyo vote was closely watched as sign of how Aso's ruling party would fare...Read Full Story

Japan's finance minister said Tuesday the ruling party has lost support in Tokyo and is facing a voter revolt across the nation, suggesting his party could lose to the leading opposition party and fall from power for only the second time in 54 years. The comment by Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano, one of the most senior members in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, follows a series of public opinion polls indicating the ruling party will lose in a landslide to the opposition Democratic Party...Read Full Story

Japan's Democratic Party began talks on Monday on forming a new government, faced with the challenge of reviving the economy and reshaping ties with key allies after its crushing election win. Yukio Hatoyama's centre-left Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is under heavy pressure to get to work quickly on addressing the huge hurdles facing the country and pulling it out of its long economic malaise. His team huddled to select cabinet ministers and work on the transition from the government of...Read Full Story

Japan's unpopular Prime Minister Taro Aso dissolved parliament Tuesday, paving the way for an election late next month seen likely to end his party's more than half century of almost unbroken rule. The embattled Aso, who is lagging badly in opinion polls and has struggled to quell internal party revolt, offered a rare apology to his conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) for the government's sagging support. "My statements and what has been characterised as my changing policy positions...Read Full Story

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's ruling bloc voted down a no-confidence motion against embattled Prime Minister Taro Aso on Tuesday, but chaos deepened within his party as fears grew of a historic defeat in a national election next month. A loss for Aso's coalition in the August 30 general election would end a half-century of nearly unbroken rule by the pro-business ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), struggling to revive the economy with massive stimulus spending. The LDP's woes have raised the...Read Full Story

Japan's Democratic Party began talks on Monday on forming a new government, faced with the challenge of reviving the economy and reshaping ties with key allies after its crushing election win. Yukio Hatoyama's centre-left Democratic Party of Japan (DPK) is under heavy pressure to get to work quickly on addressing the huge hurdles facing the country and pulling it out of its long economic malaise. His team huddled to select cabinet ministers and work on the transition from the government of...Read Full Story

Japan's embattled Prime Minister Taro Aso on Wednesday named two new cabinet ministers as he explores ways to improve his sagging popularity ahead of elections which he must call by September. Yoshimasa Hayashi was named as the new state minister for economic and fiscal policy, while lawmaker Motoo Hayashi was appointed to several new posts, including chairman of the National Public Safety Commission. Aso made the cabinet changes ahead of elections he may call as early as next month, when his...Read Full Story