TOKYO — A Japanese campaign commercial shows then-U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama cheered by supporters waving the famous "Change" placards. The scene fades to the leader of the Democratic Party of Japan calling for change in his country, too.
Polls by Japan's major news outlets predict a landslide victory for the upstart Democrats innational elections Sunday. Even before the vote, their arrival has created a legitimate contender for power in a country long dominated by the Liberal Democratic Party.
The changeis evident in the heated election campaign, the likes of which Japan hasn't seen for more than half a century.
On policy, the Democrats' promises include getting tougher in future negotiations with the U.S. and handouts to families and farmers.
"The DPJ's expected victory does not mean dramatic changes overnight, but it marks the beginning of a two-party system in Japanese politics," said Hiroshi Kawahara, professor of Japanese politics at Waseda University.
In the high-profile Tokyo regional election held last month, government statistics show 55 percent of eligible voters cast ballots, up more than 10 percent from the previous contest. Newspaper polls predict turnout for the national election will also rank among thehighest in recent years.
The long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party has run advertisements that cast the Democrats' leader, Yukio Hatoyama, as a sly suitor attempting to woo a Japanese bride with grand, empty promises. They have attacked the Democrats as inexperienced andunrealistic.
It doesn't seem to matter: A number of recent voter polls predict the Democrats, who claimed control of the weaker upper house in 2007, will easily claim a majority in parliament. Even an admission by Hatoyama that dead people were on his list of political donors had little effect.
Voters will pick members for the powerful lower house of parliament. The party or coalition that wins a majority then chooses the prime minister, who picks political allies for Cabinet positions and key posts.
The Democratic Party was founded and is run by defectors from the Liberal Democrats, so both sides share broadly conservative stances on major issues.
The Democratic Party has pledged not to raise the consumption tax for four years, despite a host of costly domestic programs including handouts for families with children and farmers, plus toll-free highways. The party says it will pay for these by eliminating waste and tapping hidden interest reserves in the current budget.
The current government has said increasing the tax is an unpopular but crucial step in returning to financial health, and most analysts agree.
"The spending plans proposed by the DPJ are necessary given the current economic conditions. But the spending program will lead to more debt, and the party has not fully explained to voters how it would tackle ballooning debt," said Waseda University's Kawahara.
Information for this article was contributed by Shino Yuasa and Mari Yamaguchi of The Associated Press.
Front Section, Pages 2 on 08/27/2009