Japan PM Resigns as Opposition Party Scores Election Victory

Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) leader, Yukio Hatoyama, will most liekly be the next Japanese Prime Minister. Photo by zimbio.com

The opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is set for a massive election victory, exit polls suggest.

The DPJ has won 300 seats in the 480-seat lower house, ending 50 years of almost unbroken rule by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), NHK TV says.

Current Prime Minister Taro Aso has resigned from his post as conservative LDP leader and has congratulated DPJ on their victory.

The DPJ says it will shift the focus of government from supporting corporations to helping consumers and workers.

Japan is suffering record unemployment and its economy is struggling to emerge from a bruising recession, the BBC reported.

The conservative LDP, led by Prime Minister Taro Aso, has governed Japan for all but 11 months since 1955.

The DPJ leader, Yukio Hatoyama, has promised to boost welfare, reform the bureaucracy, and seek a more balanced relationship with the United States.

Official results are expected early on Monday.

 

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