Aso promises general election soon

TOKYO, June 27 (UPI) -- Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso promises a general election "in the not so distant future."

Legislators believe that means an election Aug. 2 with the House of Representatives dissolved before the July 12 Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, the Mainichi Daily News reported Saturday.

Aso became prime minister last September, the latest in a string of leaders since the last general election in 2005. He is also president of the Liberal Democratic Party, which has governed Japan almost continuously since 1955.

But the prime minister, his party and the governing coalition are now unpopular. The newspaper said its most recent poll shows an approval rating for the government below 20 percent while the LDP's popularity is far below that of its major opponent, the Democratic Party of Japan.