Japan ruling bloc loses local poll, PM at risk

TOKYO, July 12 (Reuters) - Moves to oust unpopular Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso were likely to intensify after media projections showed his ruling bloc lost its majority in a Tokyo assembly election on Sunday seen as a bellwether for a national poll.

NHK public TV said the opposition Democratic Party would become the biggest party in the Tokyo assembly, and that Aso's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior partner had lost their majority in the local legislature.

A Democratic Party victory in the national poll, due by October, would end half a century of nearly unbroken rule by the conservative LDP and raise the chances of resolving a parliamentary deadlock as Japan tries to recover from its worst recession in 60 years. (Editing by Tim Pearce)