Three days ahead of the lower house election, all parties in Japan are ratcheting up last-ditch campaigns. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which was regarded to face an uphill battle because of its internal discord, is showing noticeable advantage in polls over its rivals.

Although the leading edge varied in terms of timing of media surveys, the general opinion gravitated toward the possibility for the ruling bloc, or even the LDP alone, to attain a majority in the general election set for Step. 11.

A survey result in the Asahi Shimbun daily showed Thursday that the LDP lead the major opposition Democratic Party of Japan 27 percent over 18 percent in support rating in proportional representation constituencies. The former advanced 4 percentage points from the previous survey, while the latter edged up 2 points.

Another leading newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun said Sunday that the ruling party was widening its lead over the DPJ, especially in urban areas that previously supported the largest opposition party.

LDP leader, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has repeatedly noted that he takes the election as a referendum on his postal privatization reform, and offered to step down if the ruling coalition fails to secure a majority.

The iron-handed leader vowed not to endorse in the election party lawmakers who voted against his postal reform bills in the parliamentary sessions. Still, Koizumi intensified his punitive action by picking well-known personnel as candidates to compete head-on with the party rebels in their constituencies.

His tactics seem to have worked as media polls showed surging public interest in the election and upbeat outlook for the LDP.

Koizumi's personal appealing also very much contributed to the LDP's leading margin, said Hiroshi Hoshi, a senior political writer to the Asahi Shimbun. Previous media polls have revealed that the premier was still the most charming politician in Japan.

However, the DPJ, which has gained momentum in the recent elections, failed to take advantage of the split of the ruling party. The rising of the DPJ has generated wide perception that Japan is on the way toward a two-party political system.

Immediately after Koizumi dissolved the lower house and called a snap election, DPJ President Katsuya Okada appeared so confident about winning the election that he stated it was time for the DPJ to take power.

The polls showed that the LDP was drawing growing support in urban areas, while the in LDP's traditional stronghold of rural areas, DPJ's popularity was increasing, which was a character different from the previous elections.

Koizumi-led structural reforms "have hard hit the regions outside the urban areas, and the people in urban areas have been supporting Koizumi's reforms, saying that by further pushing forward with the reforms, their tax burdens would be reduced," Hoshi said.

In the campaign, the LDP focused solely on postal reform. Koizumi described the privatizing the giant Japan Post as the prerequisite of all reform projects. "I promote this postal privatization because it is a structural reform of the administration, of state finances, of the economy, banking and red tape, but most of all, a structural reform of politics," the premier said when the party brought forward its election manifesto in August.

The DPJ pinned its campaign drive on pension reform and child- rearing toward which the public has showed greater preference to postal reform.

In spite of the rosy prospect for the LDP, the party can not yet rest for sure that it will secure a majority. There are 20 percent to 30 percent eligible voter who have not yet decided which party they would vote for.

Japanese media have made three projections: the DPJ alone secures a majority, the ruling coalition wins a majority, and the DPJ comes to power.

Hoshi said that, given the current situation, the first two scenarios are more likely.

This is the second general election since Koizumi took office in April 2001. There are 1,131 candidates contending for the 480 seats in the lower house.

Before the dissolution of the House of Representatives, the LDP held 212 seats; its ruling partner, the New Komeito party held 34 seats; and the DPJ had 177 seats.

Source: Xinhua