DJP called winner in key Tokyo elections

TOKYO, July 12 (UPI) -- Results from a bellwether election Sunday indicated the opposition Democratic Party of Japan will become Tokyo's leading party, analysts said.

Projections by the Japanese news agency Kyodo indicated the DPJ would win the city's metropolitan assembly election, which is seen as a key bellwether for the upcoming national general elections.

If the trends hold, the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic and the New Komeito parties would lose their municipal majorities, Kyodo said. The Tokyo results have triggered speculation that the LDP will hold a presidential election to replace unpopular Prime Minister Taro Aso as its leader before the general election.

The LDP has governed Japan for almost all of the past 50 years, and the DPJ is hoping to break its grip on power, the BBC reported. The LDP was being hurt by Aso's low popularity approval, which had been near 20 percent.