Article: Voters Deserting Japan's LDP;Ruling Party Candidates Find Discontent in Tokyo, Rural District

In this apple-growing village in northern Japan, farmers are rebelling against the conservative Liberal Democratic Party that has ruled Japan-with their loyal support-almost since the postwar U.S. occupation.

"Until now, all my life was with the LDP," Yonekichi Asari, 79, said recently on his way home from his fields. "But now, we cannot trust them."

In Tokyo, Bunbei Hara, a three-term LDP member of Japan's parliament, is finding similar discontent among traditional supporters like shopkeepers and small businessmen. For the first time in his career, Hara said recently, he can imagine losing despite his district's past support for the LDP.

Facing summer elections for the upper house of ...

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