Japanese polls predict win for ruling party

Press, 21 June 1980, Page 8

Japanese polls predict win for ruling party

NZPA-Reuter Tokyo Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party took new' heart yesterday as a flurry, of public opinion polls predicted that it would be re-; turned to power in tomorrow’s General Election. The surveys, published by! national newspapers, joined - polls earlier this week which forecast that the Japanese would choose to stick to the party which brought Japan' economic prosperity during ( its 25 years in office. i But Japanese public opin-!; ion polls have been noto-l riously wrong in previous •< elections and the surveys,! indicated that about one-in-J four voters remain unde-j cided on how to vote tomor-d row. 11 Another factor not includ-'; ed in the conclusions of theh surveys was the death of the [ 1 Prime Minister (Mr Masa- s yoshi Ohira) last week, about the same time that 1 some of the surveys were 1 being taxen. ’ Political sources have con- 1 eluded that Mr Ohira’s death < can only increase the party’s i

chances at the- polls because i his death had served to unify the usually party leaders, at 'least until voting uay. After the vote the leaders of the party will fight it out [in a party caucus to see (which one should be chosen ■to succeed Mr Ohira at the helm of the Conservative Party, and as Prime Minister. Mr Ohira’s death may also (win some sympathy 'votes i for the party, whose leaders since then have shown unaccustomed restraint in criti- ; cising each other and manoeuvring for the party and Government leadership. Opposition parties, which hope to take enough votes, i from the Liberal Democrats to force it into a coalition government, have shown themselves to be divided on several issues. The Liberal Democrats have taken advantage of this th warn the electorate that a vote for the opposition parties is either a wasted vote or a vote for division and ineffectiveness.