Japan opposition could win big in Aug 30 poll-paper

TOKYO Aug 20 (Reuters) - Japan's opposition Democratic Party could win about 300 seats in an Aug. 30 election for parliament's 480-seat lower house, trouncing the conservative party that has ruled for most of the past half-century, a newspaper said on Thursday.

But the Asahi newspaper also said that some 30 tO 40 percent of voters in its survey of electoral districts had not revealed how they would vote while 25 percent might change their minds, so results could shift significantly in the final days.

Previous opinion polls have shown the Democrats well ahead of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), raising the prospect that the business-friendly LDP will lose power for only the second time in its 54-year history. [ID:nT44020]

The Democrats have pledged to revive the economy by putting more money in the hands of consumers, hold off on raising the 5 percent sales tax for the next four years and adopt a diplomatic stance less subservient to top security ally the United States.

Financial markets would likely welcome the prospect of smoother policy-making as Japan shakes off a recession, although some analysts say the Democrats' ambitious plans could inflate already high public debt and push up long-term interest rates. (Reporting by Linda Sieg)