Japan ruling party loses on tax talk: exit polls

TOKYO - battered by voter backlash over the prospect of higher taxes on the sale, Japan ruling Democratic Party suffered a crushing defeat in parliamentary elections Sunday, media exit polls showed a blow that the government is capable of soaring debt control could hinder.
The expected losses were worse than expected and will make it difficult for the young government of Prime Minister Naoto Will's effectively tackle serious problems facing the world's second largest economy, from reining in her bulging deficit, to revive the stagnant economy and support a rapidly aging population.
The expected results indicate that the ruling coalition's 122-seat majority in parliament upper house lost. The election will not directly affect the Democrats' grip on power because they control the more powerful lower house of parliament.
But it raises the serious prospect of a stalemate.
"It's bad news for May and the party, and that is very bad news for the nation, because it means that there are no plans to take more decisive action on all the festering problems of the government," said Jeff Kingston, director of the Asian Studies at Temple University in Japan. "And that is the global consequences."
A hawk fiscal and social progressive, Can warned immediately after taking office last month that Japan, unless drastic measures they can tax a Greece-like crisis - a comparison experts say is exaggerated.
But his proposal to Japan 5 percent sales tax may double in the next few years clearly hurt his chances in the party elections, where half of the 242 Senate seats were up for grabs.
Can be recognized that the proposal has led to the loss and said he had raised the subject suddenly and without adequate explanation.
But he said that he was unstoppable.
"While taking the results seriously and humbly, I make a fresh start and continue to implement a sound policy management," said Will a late night press conference.
Public broadcaster NHK had predicted that the Democratic Party of Japan won the game between 43 and 48 seats contested in the Senate, down from 54 before the election. Other television channels like projections. Will was the target for the 54 seats.
The Democrats 'small coalition partner, the Peoples' New Party and got no seats, the exit surveys showed.
Official results were not expected until Monday.
Said he could not immediately looking for new coalition partners. Analysts said that without new partners or a cooperative relationship with another party or two, the Democrats will pass bills likely to encounter problems face and pushing their agenda to the government spending cuts and more money into the hands of consumers.
Can the job seemed safe for now, analysts thought they added that his leadership could be challenged in the general meeting of the party in September.
The defeat was a stunning rebuke to the Democrats, who stormed to power in August last year amid high expectations for change and transparency in government, unseating the conservative Liberal Democratic Party, which had ruled Japan for most of the post- Second World War.
But voters were disillusioned with the Democrats before the May raised tax increase issue.
While the Democrats scored points for the freezing of many public works projects seen as wasteful, the public was very disappointed by involving former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in a financing mechanism scandal and the fact that he was a campaign promise for a controversial US naval base to move from the southern island of Okinawa to keep. Hatoayama stopped last month.
"People are desperate for change and reform, and neither party supply," said Kingston. "I think they are deeply disappointed and skeptical. And that's the message they sent tonight."
The LDP, which is now the main opposition party, seems to have done better than expected, winning 48-50 seats, according to projections. That would give them 81-83 seats in parliament, against 71 for the elections.
A possible partner for the Democrats, the newly formed your party, composed of LDP defectors who champions smaller government. It was expected to be approximately nine seats to win, polls showed.
May initially saw his high ratings drop support after his tax increase proposal, asked him backpedal somewhat on the issue.
In the aftermath of the campaign, promised that any tax increase would not occur until after the next Lower House election, which must be held within three years, says he wanted a public mandate for a decision on taxes.
Japanese newspapers on Sunday praised Can comments be brave enough to exclude the possibility of higher taxes, but the damage appeared to have been made by voters who are in a stagnating economy suffers from high unemployment.
"People had high hopes for the Democrats, and they feel betrayed," said Tomoaki Iwai, a professor of politics at Nihon University in Tokyo. "They want cleaner politics, money, and there were scandals ... The Democrats tend to Talk Talk, but they have not backed it up."
Iwai also said that it would be difficult for the party can push through its agenda.
"I think we look forward to a very complicated situation," he said.