Blow to Japan's PM in Tokyo poll

The ruling coalition of Japan's PM Taro Aso has been defeated in a Tokyo local election seen as a key popularity test prior to general elections.

Reports say the loss to the opposition Democratic Party (DPJ) could lead Mr Aso to dissolve parliament this week.

The DPJ won 54 seats to 38 for Mr Aso's Liberal Democratic Party, ending four decades of dominance in the assembly.

The defeat could also increase pressure on Mr Aso to quit as LDP leader before the national poll due by September.

The LDP and its coalition partner, New Komeito, together won 61 seats, three short of the 64 needed to secure a majority in Tokyo's 127-member assembly.

Before the vote, the bloc had 70 seats against 34 for the DPJ.

A senior LDP official acknowledged the electoral upset for the coalition and said his party now had to face "severe judgement from Tokyo residents".

"We are afraid that this impact on a general election will be quite big," said Nobuteru Ishihara.

DPJ leader Yukio Hatoyama called on Mr Aso to "ask for the people's voice by dissolving the lower house and calling a general election".