Undecided voters hold key going into Japan's Sunday elections

June 24, 2000
Web posted at: 11:28 a.m. HKT (0328 GMT)

From Marina Kamimura
CNN Tokyo Bureau Chief

TOKYO (CNN) -- Seven main parties are running in Sunday's general election, but Japanese voters are not necessarily grateful for the array of choices.

Surveys show that Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) should fare well, but observers say the high number of candidates may help explain why half of the electorate is still unsure how -- or even whether -- to vote.

Shoppers in downtown Tokyo also pointed to the lack distinctive platforms.

"I do not agree with the current LDP," said one young woman. "On the other hand, I do not find anything interesting being offered by the opposition either."

"I really do not see much difference between the parties," said another.

Mori's LDP and its coalition partners, the Komei and New Conservatives, say a vote for any of them is a vote for stability.

The challengers, led by the Democratic Party of Japan, say they represent Japan's future.

About the only issue on which the two sides differ is the economy. The ruling coalition says ensuring strong economic growth takes priority over Japan's ballooning debt. The Democrats say the debt needs to be addressed now.

With the public largely undecided on that issue, and no other big policy differences, polls favor the incumbents despite the government's recent plunge in popularity -- a plunge fueled largely by a string of controversial remarks from Mori that appeared to betray a nostalgia for wartime imperialism.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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