TOKYO: The opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is set to become the leading party in Sunday's Tokyo metropolitan assembly election, which is seen as a bellwether for the upcoming general election.

As of 10:30 pm Beijing time, DPJ had won 46 votes compared with 17 for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), according to state broadcaster NHK.

News reports said the ruling coalition, LDP and New Komeito, had a "slim chance to secure half of the seats".

A total of 221 candidates are vying for the 127 seats. Before the election, 48 assembly members belonged to the LDP, 34 to the DPJ, 22 to New Komeito, 13 to the Japanese Communist Party and four to Tokyo Seikatsusha Network. Four other assembly members were independents and two seats were vacant.

If the ruling bloc of the LDP and the New Komeito party fails to achieve its target of retaining a majority, there could be strong moves within the LDP to replace Prime Minister Taro Aso as its head prior to the lower house election.

Aso has been thought to be eyeing an early August national vote, but many in the LDP were already opposed to a move they fear would be political suicide.

"That is impossible," he said in a debate on Fuji TV. "Of course it will be the prime minister who calls the election."

Kyodo News said turnout rate was high, estimated at 42.77 percent - up around 7 points from the previous election.

Aso, who returned to Japan Saturday from the Group of Eight Summit in Italy, was quoted as telling the top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura Saturday night: "The results of the Tokyo assembly election are not related to national politics."

However, Kyodo quoted another unidentified ruling party executive as saying: "This is a great blow against the Aso government."

The LDP has already lost to the opposition in four straight major local elections.

A Democratic Party victory in the lower house election would end half a century of nearly unbroken rule by the business-friendly LDP and raise the chances of resolving a deadlock in a divided parliament as Japan tries to recover from its worst recession since World War II.

Aso's term as LDP leader expires in September and his critics in the party are keen to bring forward the leadership vote to replace him ahead of the general election.

Possible candidates to replace Aso include Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Yoichi Masuzoe, 60, a former academic and TV commentator seen as competent and hardworking.

But Aso is Japan's third premier to take office since Junichiro Koizumi led the party to a huge win in a 2005 election, so voters might not be impressed with another change at the top.

Japan's biggest opposition party has its own headache.

Democratic Party leader Yukio Hatoyama has apologized for the fact that some people listed as his political donors were dead.

Hatoyama took over as party leader in May after his predecessor stepped down to keep a separate fundraising scandal from hurting the party's chances at the polls.

Xinhua - Reuters