Japan election campaign underway

The Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshiro Mori, has launched his party's election campaign in Tokyo with a confident prediction of economic growth.

Correspondents say Mr Mori's Liberal Democrat Party is likely to retain its majority after the poll on June-the-twenty-fifth, despite a drop in Mr Mori's popularity after he made references to Japan's military past.

The opposition has begun its campaign in the western city of Izumo.

Its leader, Yuiko Hatoyama, called for a farewell to old politics and an end to what he described as reckless public spending.

Almost fourteen-hundred candidates will contest the election, including Yuko Obuchi, the twenty-six-year-old daughter of Mr Mori's predecessor who died in May after suffering a stroke.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service