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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Blow to Japan's PM in Tokyo poll | Blow to Japan's PM in Tokyo poll |
| (8 minutes later) | |
| The ruling coalition of Japan's PM Taro Aso has been defeated in a Tokyo local election seen as a key popularity test prior to general elections. | |
| Reports say the loss to the opposition Democratic Party (DPJ) could lead Mr Aso to dissolve parliament this week. | |
| The DPJ won 54 seats to 38 for Mr Aso's Liberal Democratic Party, ending four decades of dominance in the assembly. | The DPJ won 54 seats to 38 for Mr Aso's Liberal Democratic Party, ending four decades of dominance in the assembly. |
| The defeat could also increase pressure on Mr Aso to quit as LDP leader before the national poll due by September. | |
| The LDP and its coalition partner, New Komeito, together won 61 seats, three short of the 64 needed to secure a majority in Tokyo's 127-member assembly. | The LDP and its coalition partner, New Komeito, together won 61 seats, three short of the 64 needed to secure a majority in Tokyo's 127-member assembly. |
| Before the vote, the bloc had 70 seats against 34 for the DPJ. | Before the vote, the bloc had 70 seats against 34 for the DPJ. |
| A senior LDP official acknowledged the electoral upset for the coalition and said his party now had to face "severe judgement from Tokyo residents". | |
| "We are afraid that this impact on a general election will be quite big," said Nobuteru Ishihara. | |
| DPJ leader Yukio Hatoyama called on Mr Aso to "ask for the people's voice by dissolving the lower house and calling a general election". | |
| Voter indifference | |
| Mr Hatoyama said it was time for Mr Aso to call an election | |
| Local media say Mr Aso might dissolve the lower house of parliament as early as Tuesday in preparation for a general election which could then take place as early as the first week of August. | |
| But the BBC's Roland Buerk in Tokyo says many in Mr Aso's party fear such a move would be political suicide. | |
| They would prefer he resigned and a new leader led them in polls closer to the October deadline, says our correspondent. | |
| Mr Aso, who is the fourth prime minister since the last election to the more powerful lower house in 2005, has dismal approval ratings hovering around 20%. | Mr Aso, who is the fourth prime minister since the last election to the more powerful lower house in 2005, has dismal approval ratings hovering around 20%. |
| His LDP party has governed Japan for the past half century, except for a break of less than a year in the 1990s. | His LDP party has governed Japan for the past half century, except for a break of less than a year in the 1990s. |
| But the opposition DPJ has promised to break the grip of the bureaucracy on policy making and increase social welfare measures. | But the opposition DPJ has promised to break the grip of the bureaucracy on policy making and increase social welfare measures. |
| Its support, however, has been eroded by fundraising scandals. | Its support, however, has been eroded by fundraising scandals. |
| In the run up to the poll, many voters in the capital appeared to be largely indifferent, says our correspondent. | |
| Candidates wearing white gloves and sashes toured the streets in vans using loudspeakers to campaign, he says. | |
| Some resorted to making speeches in front of deserted city car parks, their words echoing off the surrounding apartment blocks. | Some resorted to making speeches in front of deserted city car parks, their words echoing off the surrounding apartment blocks. |