More than half of Japanese want opposition to lead

More than half of Japanese voters want the main opposition Democratic Party to lead the next government, a nationwide poll showed yesterday, as Prime Minister Taro Aso faces an election later this year.

In another blow to Aso, more than three quarters of voters said they did not expect his economic policies to help boost the nation's economy, now struggling with what some experts say will be its longest-ever recession, the Kyodo news agency poll showed.

Support for Aso's Cabinet has been hovering below 20 percent in recent months after a series of policy flip-flops and gaffes by the prime minister. Kyodo put support for the Cabinet at 18.1 percent, down 1.1 points from the previous month.