TOKYO, August 31 (RIA Novosti) - Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso announced on Monday he would resign as chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party following the party's crushing defeat in Sunday's general elections.
Japan's opposition Democratic Party, led by Yukio Hatoyama, the grandson of former premier Ichiro Hatoyama, won 308 seats in the 480-seat lower house of parliament, while the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which had been in power for more than fifty years, secured only 119.
Aso said he would have to accept responsibility for the results, adding that Japanese voters were deeply dissatisfied with him and his party.
Japan has been hard-hit by the global economic slowdown, with unemployment at a record high, sparking dissatisfaction with Aso's conservative Liberal Democratic Party.
Meanwhile, Hatoyama has pledged a range of ambitious healthcare and education spending schemes, but analysts have warned the plans could further escalate the national debt.
