Japan Prepares for Election With Noda’s DPJ Poised for Loss (original) (raw)

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will dissolve parliament tomorrow, triggering an election that polls show his party will lose three years after ending the Liberal Democratic Party’s half-century grip on power.

The ruling Democratic Party of Japan decided the national vote for the lower house will be held Dec. 16, acting party secretary-general Jun Azumi said. The deal to bring forward elections due in August came after LDP leader Shinzo Abe agreed to end an impasse over financing the budget and to support a plan to reduce the number of Diet seats.