**Japan’s Prime Minister Taro Aso has publicly apologised for what he called his failures and for his ruling party’s string of local election losses.**He spoke hours after dissolving parliament ahead of an early general election scheduled for 30 August.
Opinion polls suggest the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) could lose heavily to the opposition Democratic Party (DPJ) in the election.
A DPJ victory would end five decades of almost uninterrupted rule by the LDP.
'“My shortcomings caused mistrust from the public and I apologise from my heart for this,” Mr Aso said to his party’s legislators in a televised speech.
“I reflect humbly on this situation and will fulfil my responsibilities while keeping in mind the people who support the LDP.”
He also apologised for a series of LDP defeats in local elections. It was after losing control of the Tokyo assembly two weeks ago that Mr Aso said he was calling an election for 30 August.
Declining support
Earlier on Tuesday, the cabinet gave its formal backing to Mr Aso’s plan to dissolve parliament.
ASO’S KEY MOMENTS
- Sept 2008: Confirmed as PM
- Nov 2008: Causes outrage by saying doctors lack common sense
- Nov 2008: Alienates pensioners - a key constituency - by saying they “just eat and drink and make no effort”
- Feb 2009: Economics minister says Japan facing worst economic crisis since WWII
- April 2009: Introduces stimulus package after months of delay
- July 2009: Tokyo election loss - fourth in recent weeks. DPJ has at least 12 percentage point lead in opinion polls
Japanese PM fights for survival
Japan is in a deep recession and correspondents say that at times the prime minister has appeared indecisive.
Last week, Mr Aso survived a no-confidence motion put forward by the opposition in the lower house. But the upper house, which is dominated by the opposition, passed a similar motion.
LDP rebels tried unsuccessfully to remove him before he could dissolve parliament, believing he was leading them to a historic defeat.
Opinion polls published by the Asahi and Mainichi newspapers on Monday suggested that support for Mr Aso had continued to decline since previous surveys last month.
They showed him trailing Democratic Party leader Yukio Hatoyama.
Correspondents say the Democratic Party favours more independence from the US, a greater Japanese contribution to peacekeeping missions and a smaller role for government.
Mr Aso is the fourth prime minister since the party won the last election to the lower house of parliament in 2005.