Japan's Aso stumbles in local poll

Sunday's local poll bolsters expectations of a Democratic win in the general election and comes as renewed criticism of Aso's lack of leadership has sparked speculation that his party may seek to dump him ahead of the general election. Kunio Hatoyama, a close Aso ally, resigned as internal affairs minister on Friday after a weeks-long feud about the management of Japan Post, which runs the post office. He was the third minister to resign since Aso, 68, took office last September. A survey by broadcaster TBS showed nearly three out of four voters did not back Aso's cabinet, up eight percentage points from last month, while about 80 percent disapproved of his handling of the feud with his cabinet minister. Japanese media speculated that Aso's latest troubles could spark moves in the LDP to oust him, especially if the party fares poorly in a July 12 Tokyo metropolitan assembly election being billed as a bellwether for the national poll. Public opinion polls have shown the Democrats well ahead of the LDP in the run-up to a general election that must be held by October and that many expect to be held in August. A June 12-14 survey by broadcaster NTV showed 38.9 percent of voters planned to vote for the Democrats in the general election versus 26.3 percent for the LDP; Kazinform cites China Daily. See www.chinadaily.com.cn for full version.