Incoming DPJ government faces weak mandate

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An opinion poll by a major Japanese newspaper on Wednesday suggests that Japan's new government will command a shaky mandate when it takes office later this month.

Party leaders have acknowledged that they must set to work immediately to deal with the country's severe economic problems.

The poll by Asahi Shimbun also reveals that most Japanese voters chose the opposition Democratic Party of Japan because they were fed up with a half century of rule by the governing Liberal Democratic Party, not because they were particularly inspired by what the opposition had to offer.

The poll finds that most voters remain skeptical about whether the victorious DPJ can make good on its promises to bring the country out of its worst economic slowdown since World War Two.

The Democrats are expected to form a new government and name leader Yukio Hatoyama as prime minister on September 16th.