Japan opposition LDP's lead narrows before Dec 16 vote: Polls
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TOKYO (REUTERS) - Japan's opposition Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) lead over the ruling Democrats and a new group led by a nationalist former governor of Tokyo narrowed with two weeks left to a Dec 16 lower house election, newspaper surveys showed on Monday.
A poll by the Asahi Shimbun daily showed 20 per cent of voters would cast their ballots for the LDP, led by conservative former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, down 3 points from a Nov 26 survey.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) came in second with 15 per cent, gaining 2 points and halving the gap from a week ago. The Japan Restoration Party was third with 9 per cent, unchanged from the previous survey.
In a survey by the Yomiuri Shimbun daily, the LDP scored 19 per cent, down 6 points. The DPJ and the Japan Restoration Party each won 13 per cent, a 3 point gain by the DPJ and 1 point decline for the Restoration Party.
