Japanese take their revenge for PM’s insults
Residents of Tokyo famously live in the planet’s most seismically unpredictable capital, yet they could always boast that they enjoyed one of its most stable political systems – until now. Voters in the city’s municipal elections have just triggered the first rumblings of what could be a national political earthquake, by handing a historic drubbing to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP).
The opposition Democrats ended 40 years of Liberal Democrat dominance in the metropolis, winning 16 more seats in local elections at the weekend. They also effectively torpedoed the career of the nation’s Prime Minister, Taro Aso, who is now, politically, a dead man walking. The defeat prompted Mr Aso to call a general election in August, which on current form will see his party lose its almost unbroken, half-century grip on power over the world’s second-largest economy. No one knows what impact that will have on Japan’s relations with the rest of the world, but the guessing has begun.
Mr Aso is the latest in a string of dud leaders to test the patience of Japan’s long-suffering voters. He has been in power just 10 months and is the fourth prime minister since 2005. Two of his predecessors, Shinzo Abe and Yasuo Fukuda, also quit amid controversy and dismal poll ratings.
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