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| Version 7 | Version 8 |
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| 'Major win' for Japan opposition | 'Major win' for Japan opposition |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| The opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is set for a massive election victory, exit polls suggest. | The opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is set for a massive election victory, exit polls suggest. |
| The DPJ has won 300 seats in the 480-seat lower house, ending 50 years of almost unbroken rule by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), NHK TV says. | The DPJ has won 300 seats in the 480-seat lower house, ending 50 years of almost unbroken rule by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), NHK TV says. |
| The DPJ says it will shift the focus of government from supporting corporations to helping consumers and workers. | The DPJ says it will shift the focus of government from supporting corporations to helping consumers and workers. |
| Prime Minister Taro Aso has said he will resign as head of the LDP, taking responsibility for the defeat. | Prime Minister Taro Aso has said he will resign as head of the LDP, taking responsibility for the defeat. |
| Japan is suffering record unemployment and its economy is struggling to emerge from a bruising recession. | Japan is suffering record unemployment and its economy is struggling to emerge from a bruising recession. |
| Analysts say voters blame the conservative LDP for the current economic malaise - and are angry enough to opt for change. | Analysts say voters blame the conservative LDP for the current economic malaise - and are angry enough to opt for change. |
| Reform bureaucracy | Reform bureaucracy |
| The exit polls suggest a stunning reversal of fortune for Japan's political parties, reducing the LDP to a rump in parliament, correspondents say. | The exit polls suggest a stunning reversal of fortune for Japan's political parties, reducing the LDP to a rump in parliament, correspondents say. |
| Mr Aso's party has governed Japan for all but 11 months since 1955. | Mr Aso's party has governed Japan for all but 11 months since 1955. |
| Profile: Yukio Hatoyama Profile: Taro Aso Send us your views | Profile: Yukio Hatoyama Profile: Taro Aso Send us your views |
| Official results are expected early on Monday, but a senior LDP official acknowledged that the party was heading for a "historic defeat". | Official results are expected early on Monday, but a senior LDP official acknowledged that the party was heading for a "historic defeat". |
| "The predictions by the media were shocking. We had doubts, but now I think they are becoming a reality," Yoshihide Suga, deputy chairman of the LDP's election strategy council, was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency. | "The predictions by the media were shocking. We had doubts, but now I think they are becoming a reality," Yoshihide Suga, deputy chairman of the LDP's election strategy council, was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency. |
| The DPJ leader, Yukio Hatoyama, has promised to boost welfare, reform the bureaucracy, and seek a more balanced relationship with the United States. | The DPJ leader, Yukio Hatoyama, has promised to boost welfare, reform the bureaucracy, and seek a more balanced relationship with the United States. |
| Mr Hatoyama is the wealthy grandson of the founder of Bridgestone tyres, whose other grandfather was a former LDP prime minister. | Mr Hatoyama is the wealthy grandson of the founder of Bridgestone tyres, whose other grandfather was a former LDP prime minister. |
| 'Overwhelming majority' | 'Overwhelming majority' |
| Turnout in Sunday's election was reportedly just under 50%, slightly down from 2005 when elections saw the charismatic Junichiro Koizumi's LDP elected with a significant majority. | Turnout in Sunday's election was reportedly just under 50%, slightly down from 2005 when elections saw the charismatic Junichiro Koizumi's LDP elected with a significant majority. |
| ANALYSIS Alastair Leithead, BBC News, Tokyo | ANALYSIS Alastair Leithead, BBC News, Tokyo |
| It's a massive swing. What the opposition can do now they are coming into power, and untested, is deal with the serious problem revolving around the economy and the recession. | It's a massive swing. What the opposition can do now they are coming into power, and untested, is deal with the serious problem revolving around the economy and the recession. |
| Unemployment is at the highest level it ever has been and by the end of next year Japan will no longer be the second biggest economy in the world - that will be China. | Unemployment is at the highest level it ever has been and by the end of next year Japan will no longer be the second biggest economy in the world - that will be China. |
| Almost a third of the people here will be pensioners and therefore there will be fewer taxes coming in, more money going out. | Almost a third of the people here will be pensioners and therefore there will be fewer taxes coming in, more money going out. |
| It's a very difficult position that Japan is in. People have voted out a party that was in power almost without break for 50 years. | It's a very difficult position that Japan is in. People have voted out a party that was in power almost without break for 50 years. |
| They are now looking to a new and inexperienced government to try and deal with some difficult challenges. | They are now looking to a new and inexperienced government to try and deal with some difficult challenges. |
| Japanese broadcaster NHK announced its exit polls moments after voting ended at 2000 (1100 GMT), saying they showed a major power shift in Japan. | Japanese broadcaster NHK announced its exit polls moments after voting ended at 2000 (1100 GMT), saying they showed a major power shift in Japan. |
| "Our exit polls show the main opposition Democratic Party will seize more than 300 seats, way more than a majority in the lower house," said the newsreader. | "Our exit polls show the main opposition Democratic Party will seize more than 300 seats, way more than a majority in the lower house," said the newsreader. |
| "That signals a defeat for the governing coalition." | "That signals a defeat for the governing coalition." |
| The LDP had 303 seats in the outgoing parliament, compared to the DPJ's 112. The projections were based on exit polls of roughly 400,000 voters. | The LDP had 303 seats in the outgoing parliament, compared to the DPJ's 112. The projections were based on exit polls of roughly 400,000 voters. |
| If the DPJ were to gain such a landslide majority, it could establish a new cabinet within the next few weeks. | If the DPJ were to gain such a landslide majority, it could establish a new cabinet within the next few weeks. |
| Voter anger | Voter anger |
| As voting closed on Sunday night, officials said turnout had been high, despite a combination of typhoon-triggered rainfall around Tokyo and a government warning that a swine flu epidemic was under way. | As voting closed on Sunday night, officials said turnout had been high, despite a combination of typhoon-triggered rainfall around Tokyo and a government warning that a swine flu epidemic was under way. |
| EXIT POLL PROJECTIONS National broadcaster NHK: DPJ 298-329 seats; LDP 84-131Private network TV Asahi: DPJ 315 seatsTokyo Broadcasting System: DPJ 321 seatsNippon Television: DPJ 324 Outgoing 480-seat lower house of parliament: LDP 303; DPJ 112 | |
| The DPJ already controls Japan's upper house with the support of smaller parties including the Social Democrats. | The DPJ already controls Japan's upper house with the support of smaller parties including the Social Democrats. |
| It won control of the house in July 2007, amid voters' anger at a series of scandals and the loss of millions of pension payment records. | It won control of the house in July 2007, amid voters' anger at a series of scandals and the loss of millions of pension payment records. |
| Correspondents say voters' desire for change after so many years under the LDP was a crucial factor. | Correspondents say voters' desire for change after so many years under the LDP was a crucial factor. |
| Tokyo University political science professor Takashi Mikuriya told Japanese media the election was "more about emotions than policies". | Tokyo University political science professor Takashi Mikuriya told Japanese media the election was "more about emotions than policies". |