Japan on Tuesday officially kicks off the campaign for the Aug. 30 House of Representatives election, with the opposition eyeing to oust the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) for a historic change of government.

Public opinion polls have shown the main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), enjoyed higher support rate from eligible voters. Political observers also believed that DPJ has a good chance of winning the election over the long-dominant LDP.

Japanese Prime Minister and the leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party Taro Aso (L), and Yukio Hatoyama, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, attend a debate with other party leaders at the National Press Club, in Tokyo, Japan, Aug. 17, 2009. The six party leaders held a debate prior to the lower house election scheduled on Aug. 30.[Xinhua]

The LDP has ruled Japan for more than half a century since 1955, with the only exception of about 10 months from 1993 to 1994.

In the first official campaign speech Tuesday, Prime Minister Aso Taro, who leads LDP, said in Tokyo his party is the only one that can "take responsibility", indicating the DPJ is inexperience in governing and cannot live up to the promises.

"The point I would like to stress the most (to the public) is ( who has) the ability to take responsibility," Aso told a crowd in Tokyo.

He also called on the public to show confidence about the government's economic stimulus plan, which helped the economy to growth for the first time in five consecutive quarters, while questioned DPJ's means of financing their pledges.

In Osaka, DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama rapped the LDP for being too dependent on bureaucrats in laying out policies and wasting taxpayers' money.

"Let's put an end to bureaucracy-oriented politics and please give us the power to achieve a change of government," Hatoyama said, dismissing the LDP as far from responsible.

Other party leaders also hit the streets Tuesday, trying to make sure they have some unique policies from the two big parties.

The general election is scheduled to be held around four years after September 2005, when the LDP scored a landslide victory under then popular Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

However, since Koizumi, the LDP has run into crisis on a lot of fronts. Prime Minister Taro Aso is already the country's third premier since the Koizumi stepped down in 2006.

The opposition, which had 112 seats at the time of the Diet dissolution, will need to secure 129 additional seats to give it a bare majority with 241 seats in the lower chamber.

DPJ has already won a string of local elections, including the key Tokyo metropolitan assembly election, which is seen as a barometer for the lower house election.

Roughly 1,300 people are expected to file their candidacies with election boards from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. to vie for the 480 lower house seats -- 300 for single-seat districts and 180 for proportional-representation constituencies, according to Kyodo News.

DPJ fielded a record-high 59 candidates for proportional- representation (PR) only seats, while the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) fielded a record-low 37, reflecting the political mood of a country where the current buzzword is " seikenkotae" (a change of government).

The Diet, or Japanese parliament, has been divided since the DPJ became the largest force in the House of Councillors after the 2007 upper house election. Since then the dysfunctional handling of Diet business has been repeatedly pointed out.

(Xinhua News Agency August 18, 2009)