Japan voters say ready to give chance to opposition

HIGASHIHIROSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) - With Japan's election just days away, voters in this conservative countryside are pondering what was once unthinkable -- rejecting the Liberal Democratic Party that has ruled for most of the past 54 years.

Interviews with more than a dozen voters in a town near Hiroshima in western Japan showed that while many are hardly wildly enthusiastic about the opposition Democratic Party, they are fed up with the LDP and willing to give change a chance.

"We need change, although I don't know what will change if the Democrats win," said Katsuko Ransho, who works at a tourist booth in an area known for sake brewing.

"Hiroshima is the kingdom of conservatism, but we just need to change."

Surveys over the past week have shown the opposition party could win Sunday's election by a landslide, taking some 300 seats in parliament's powerful 480-seat lower house.

Neither here nor in other districts is there much sign of the sort of voter exuberance that helped propel Barack Obama to victory in the U.S. presidential election last year, and analysts say the opposition victory may be less overwhelming than forecast.

But many expect the Democrats to gain a majority, ushering in a government pledged to focus spending on households, cut waste and wrest control of policy from the hands of bureaucrats.

Some local LDP backers who have helped elected party heavyweight Hidenao Nakagawa nine times are poised to give the Democrats their vote -- at least this time.

"I think the government should change once," said 69-year-old Hiroaki Yamashita. "We can go back to the old way if the Democratic Party fails too."

An opposition victory would end more than 50 years of almost unbroken rule by the conservative LDP and improve chances of resolving a policy deadlock caused by a divided parliament, where the opposition controls the upper house and can delay bills.

Support for the LDP has sagged due to scandals, policy flip-flops and a perception the party has failed to address deep-seated problems such as a shrinking, fast-aging population.

ONE-PARTY RULE

Democratic Party leader Yukio Hatoyama, a former LDP lawmaker who helped found the opposition party, took aim at his former ruling party colleagues in a campaign speech on Wednesday.

"As the LDP has continued to rule, Japan's government has become like one-party despotism that does not hear the people's voices," Hatoyama said from on top of a van as a few hundred voters gathered near a shopping mall in the town of Higashihiroshima, about 680 km (423 miles) southwest of Tokyo.

But in an apparent attempt not to offend staunch LDP backers, Hatoyama steered clear of harsh attacks on his rivals.

"It's not the fault of the LDP. But I think together with you, we need to strengthen the opposition to build a two-party system, and I think that's the right choice for your lives," he said, as listeners sheltered from the summer sun under parasols.

Hatoyama, 62, the wealthy grandson of a former prime minister, has been criticized as a less-than-galvanizing speaker.

But voters mobbed him after his brief speech supporting local Democratic candidate Seiki Soramoto, seeking to shake hands with the man many expect to be the next prime minister.

Local newspapers have said the LDP's Nakagawa could defeat rival Soramoto for a third straight time -- but Hatoyama's performance may have helped the challenger's chances.

"Until now, I didn't think an election was relevant to me. But I'm getting more interested as I realize my vote could actually count this time," 23-year-old student, Yohei Yamauchi, said after Hatoyama's speech.

"Hatoyama was smart not to criticize the LDP directly in this district. Hearing comments from the person who may become our next prime minister had a big impact on me," he added.

The Democrats could benefit from floating voters like Yamauchi, who can easily swing from one party to the other.

Such voters opted heavily for the LDP four years ago, when charismatic leader Junichiro Koizumi led his party to a huge victory with promises of reform, but surveys show them leaning toward the Democrats this time.

Forecasts of a Democratic landslide, though, have some worried. "Media are all excited about the Democrats, but if the Democrats win too big, they may be unstoppable and the country may go in the wrong direction as it ... did after Koizumi," said Kenichi Uneda, a 33-year-old employee.

(Editing by Linda Sieg and Dean Yates)