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As the latest Asahi opinion poll is in, the total catastrophe the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) are facing is becoming clearer by the minute. After the pension record scandal, Kyuma's a-bomb gaffe, Matsuoka's suicide, Akagi's and now also Shiozaki's dubious office expenditure affairs, the LDP are surely about to get what they deserve.
I found one part of the survey particularly interesting, though: the DPJ approval rate, while abysmally low, has risen among women and is now higher than their approval rate of LDP. An article on the survey told me that support for DPJ in this "group" (well, half of the population) is traditionally low.
Which struck me as odd. I thought that it was a worldwide occurring phenomenon that women are politically more left-aligned than their male counterparts, but apparently not-so in Japan.
How come?
To suggest it would be down to former PM Koizumi's attractive "dandy" looks might seem shallow - and it probably is. While it's lamentable that Abe Shinzo has just about as much charm as a rock, DPJ leader Ozawa surely isn't the most beautiful man this side of the Japanese Sea.
Maybe it's down to the surprisingly matriarchal structure of Japanese society - in Japan, the wives generally take care of what their husbands earn, in turn giving allowances to their hubbies. Their complete control of the cash flow might make Japanese women more aware of tax raises than their U.S. counterparts, pushing them further to the right on to the political spectre.
Then again, the battle between LDP and DPJ is very little about tax raises, at least in this election. That women and men alike feel indignant over the loss of their pension records is a no-brainer.
