DEMOCRATS TO TAKE POWER AMID HIGH EXPECTATIONS

       Half a century of almost uninterrupted conservative rule in Japan will come to an end this week as Yukio Hatoyama's Democrats take power, facing huge pressure to revive the economy.
       It is the first time since 1955 that the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has been voted out of government in the world's number two economy, and only their second stint ever in opposition.
       Hatoyama, whose Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) wonalandslide general election victory two weeks ago with a promise of change, is set to be appointed prime minister by parliament on Wednesday.
       Three in four people expect much of their incoming government, with an equal number unsure of what to expect after over 50 years of almost unbroken LDP rule, a poll showed yesterday.
       The percentage of people with high expectations of the DPJ rose to 72 per cent in early September, up from 52 per cent in June, the survey, carried out by the Yomiuri Shimbun and Waseda University, said.
       However, 77 per cent said they felt unsure about the DPJ, slightly up from the 76 per cent who expressed such concerns in the previous survey, the poll showed.
       The latest survey was conducted on September 5 and 6, interviewing 3,000 eligible voters at 250 locations across the country.
       Experts say Hatoyama's honeymoon with voters may not last long.
       Opinion polls show the DPJ faces high expectations from voters eager to see an improvement in the ailing economy following the worst slump in decades, but pulling the country out of its long economic malaise will be no easy task. While the recession may be over, officially at least, unemployment and homelessness are on the rise and the country faces major long-term challenges to cope with an ageing and shrinking population as well as soaring public debt.
       Hatoyama, 62, has laid out an ambitious agenda, promising to boost household income through financial assistance for families and farmers, free high school education and an end to highway tolls, all without raising taxes.
       He has delighted environmentalists but irked business leaders by pledging to cut Japan's greenhouse gas emissions by ambitious 25 per cent by 2020 from 1990 levels, if other major emitters commit similarly aggressive goals.
       On the diplomatic front, he has vowed to seek an "equal" alliance with the United States and has already raised eyebrows in Washington with a spirited critique of US-led globalisation and "unrestrained market fundamentalism".
       Hatoyama will make his debut on the world stage as premier later this month, addressing the UN General Assembly, meeting US President Barack Obama and taking part in a summit of leaders from the Group of 20 nations.
       His foremost task during the trip is to confirm Japan's alliance with the United States, having called for a review of US military forces in Japan that provide security against the threat from North Korea.
       The DPJ, which has long argued that Japan should not be part of "an American war", has promised to end Japan's naval refuelling mission in the Indian Ocean in support of the Nato-led force in Afghanistan.
       "It is only natural that policies change when the government changes," said Jiro Yamaguchi, a politics professor at Hokkaido University. "Japan should have no reason to be bound by US policies."