Japan elections
101 East asks whether a new party is set to lead the country after 50 years of LDP rule.
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Japan is set to go to the polls in what could be an historic election.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is expected to lose.
Opinion polls have indicated that the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is well placed to make major gains, possibly ending more than five decades of almost uninterrupted LDP rule.
With four prime ministers in the last four years, critics say the LDP is in disarray and many voters want a major change in government.
Whoever wins the general election will face the challenge of turning Japan’s economic recovery into sustainable growth.
On this edition of 101 East, we examine an election that could change the face of Japanese politics. Is a new party set to lead Japan?
Presenter Fauziah Ibrahim is joined by Yukari Sato, an LDP member of parliament, Yukihisa Fujita, a DPJ member of parliament, and professor Jeff Kingston, the director of Asian studies at Tokyo’s Temple University.
This episode of 101 East can be seen from Thursday, August 20, 2009 at the following times GMT: Thursday: 1230; Friday: 0300; Saturday: 0530, 1730; Sunday: 0330, 1130; Monday: 1630; Tuesday: 1430; Wednesday: 0830, 1930; Thursday: 0630.