Japan's LDP May Seek Alliance With Opposition, Nakasone Says

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aGv93O.tUVIA

By Bradley K. Martin and Sachiko Sakamaki

Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Japan's former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone said the government will probably seek to form a coalition with the opposition after losing its ability to push through legislation in upcoming elections.

Prime Minister Taro Aso will probably call elections by March or April before he runs out of ``freshness and energy,'' Nakasone said in an interview in his office Nov. 4. If the Liberal Democratic Party loses its two-thirds majority in the lower house, which allows it to override vetoes by the upper chamber, it may approach the opposition Democratic Party of Japan about forming a new coalition, he said.

``The situation is very dire for the LDP according to current opinion polls,'' said Nakasone, 90, who served as prime minister from 1982 to 1987. ``A ship's captain looks for an opportunity to deploy lifeboats in a storm.''



Aso had wanted to call elections last month but was forced to postpone them because of his low public approval rating, said Nakasone, whose son Hirofumi Nakasone serves as Japan's foreign minister. Aso announced a plan to inject 5 trillion yen ($51 billion) into the economy to help households and small businesses last month and indicated he would delay elections until the global financial crisis subsides.

Aso's approval rating fell from 49.5 percent after he took office Sept. 24 to 40.5 percent in a Yomiuri newspaper poll published Nov. 4. The paper didn't report a margin of error in the telephone survey of 1,041 people.

After elections the LDP will approach the DPJ's leader about forming a so-called ``grand coalition,'' Nakasone said. There's about ``a 50 percent chance'' the DPJ will agree, he said.

``A grand coalition is one of a few options the LDP has to stay in power,'' said Tomoaki Iwai, political science professor at Nihon University in Tokyo. ``The LDP is focusing on how to survive as a ruling party.''

Nakasone's term as prime minister is the fourth longest since World War II. Nakasone, who privatized the state-owned railway system, was known for his close relationship with U.S. President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

DPJ chief Ichiro Ozawa served as home minister in Nakasone's cabinet before leaving the LDP in 1993.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bradley K. Martin in Tokyo at bmartin18@bloomberg.net; Sachiko Sakamaki in Tokyo at Ssakamaki1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 5, 2008 21:19 EST