LDP secretary general says no Diet dissolution by year-end

Monday 10th November, 03:59 AM JST

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8 Comments

Samuraiiki at 01:38 PM JST - 9th November

Why not dissolve the whole country?
ptolemy at 06:29 PM JST - 9th November

Wow the LDP is "surprisingly" pushing the date back later every week.
apecNetworks at 07:24 PM JST - 9th November

Let me guess - it will be dissolved around 1/20/09, give or take 5days.
Azrael at 10:04 PM JST - 9th November

Well, it would be amazing if Aso didn't cling to power, considering how anxiously he awaited for his turn.
930148mike at 10:09 PM JST - 9th November

Prime Minister Aso and his LDP/New Komeito Government are in a very difficult situation. Were a Lower House Election to be held soon, the Opposition DPJ would most probably win. The problem is that without an Election, the political gridlock that has dogged Japan since July 2007 will continue. Mr Aso appears to be hoping that voters will gradually swing back to the Coalition, given enough time. It remains doubtful, however, if this tactic will work or not. Japan may soon have a new Government and the Coalition might soon be in Opposition.
some14some at 07:27 AM JST - 10th November

Wow the LDP is "surprisingly" pushing the date back later every week.

true, so Taro-Ichiro should stop playing Tv ads, people will forget the contents by the time elections are held.
thepro at 08:29 AM JST - 10th November

With all this talk of 'change' coming out of America and the world I'm sure the LDP don't want to be having any elections right now
Simon_Foston at 11:59 AM JST - 10th November

With all this talk of 'change' coming out of America and the world I'm sure the LDP don't want to be having any elections right now

Absolutely not. Come the next election they can pretty much say goodbye to their lower house supermajority, without which they are completely screwed unless they can somehow reclaim the upper house.

P.S. Doesn't it seem a bit stupid to have a bicameral legislature when there's always the theoretical possibility of different parties controlling each house without either one having a big enough governing majority to break ties? At least in America the executive branch can step in, and in Britain the House of Lords can delay legislation but not completely block it.