DATE=11/08/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=JAPAN/ELECTIONS (S)

NUMBER=2-309600

BYLINE=AMY BICKERS

DATELINE=TOKYO

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: A general election in underway in Japan, where voters are choosing lawmakers to fill all 480 seats in parliament's powerful Lower House. V-O-A's Amy Bickers reports from Tokyo, a coalition led by the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party is expected to win.

TEXT: Sunday's election is essentially a vote for or against Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his economic reform policies. Polls indicate that most Japanese see Mr. Koizumi and the Liberal Democratic Party or L-D-P, which has ruled Japan almost continuously for nearly 50 years, as the best option.

Eri Tezuka is a 24-year-old office worker in Tokyo.

/// TEZUKA ACT IN JAPANESE, FADE ///

She says, if she votes, she will probably support the L-D-P, because it has been the dominant political force in Japan.

Newspaper surveys show that the ruling party is likely to win. But the Democratic Party of Japan, the major opposition group, is expected to enlarge its presence in parliament and to mount an increasing challenge to the L-D-P. (SIGNED)

NEB/HK/AB/BK/TW