Way Cleared for Japan Election

Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto dissolved the House of Representatives today, clearing the way for the first general election under a new system aimed at empowering urban voters, encouraging policy debates and cracking down on political corruption.

The Hashimoto Cabinet was expected later today to officially set the election for Oct. 20. The official campaign season will open Oct. 8, as candidates get set to scramble for political survival in new single-seat districts before increasingly disenchanted voters--more than half of whom want a new government, according to recent polls.

No party is expected to win a majority, leaving it unclear who will form Japan’s next government. Scenarios range from a continuation of the current coalition composed of Hashimoto’s Liberal Democratic Party, Social Democrats and New Party Harbinger, to a conservative alliance between the LDP and opposition New Frontier Party, to a reformist government consisting of the new Democratic Party and liberals in other parties.