July 21 (Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Taro Aso dissolved Japan’s parliament, clearing the way for an Aug. 30 election that polls indicate will hand power to the opposition Democratic Party of Japan for the first time. Lower-House Speaker Yohei Kono announced the dissolution in parliament today to a chorus of cheers. Aso’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, in power for all but 10 months since 1955, will defend a two-thirds majority in the election. “The era of one-party dominance is over,” said Gerald Curtis, professor of Japanese politics at Columbia University in New York. “This is the first election since the LDP was formed when just about everybody believes that the chance for a change of the party in power is very real.” Forty-two percent of respondents in an Asahi newspaper poll published yesterday said they would vote for the DPJ, compared with 19 percent for the LDP. The opposition, which has controlled the less-powerful upper house since 2007, had a public approval rating of 31 percent, compared with 20 percent for the LDP, according to the poll. Aso, who came to office last September, has resisted calls from within his own party to resign before the election. His administration has been plagued by cabinet scandals and a deepening economic recession. “I’m sorry for my lack of ability and that I couldn’t fully unify the party,” Aso, 68, told party colleagues in a meeting today, part of which was televised by NHK, Japan’s public broadcaster. “We must sincerely accept the public criticism, humbly reflect upon ourselves and start afresh.” Koizumi Triumph Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi led the ruling party to a landslide victory in September 2005, with the LDP winning two-thirds of seats in the 480-member chamber. Curtis predicts the DPJ will win a majority in the next election because Japan’s voters want change, before forming a coalition government with other parties. “This is not just an election to end LDP government,” DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama told his party’s lawmakers this morning. “We must remember the historical mission that this is going to be a big, revolutionary race to start Japanese politics anew.” To contact the reporter on this story: Sachiko Sakamaki in Tokyo at Ssakamaki1@bloomberg.netTakashi Hirokawa in Tokyo at thirokawa@bloomberg.net

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