Katsuya Okada, the leader of the Democratic Party of Japan and the main rival to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, has hired PR firm Fleishman-Hillard [3] to help buff his image ahead of the September 11 national election. Okada, who has adopted the slogan of "upright and single-minded", is described [4] as rarely smiling "when he's out delivering his dead-earnest campaign message." Koizumi, whose slogan is "Don't Stop Reform", called an early election following the defeat of legislation seeking to privatize the publicly owned Post Office, which also provides insurance and banking services.
The latest poll [5] suggests that Koizumi's LDP, which has previously formed a coalition government with minor parties, will win an absolute majority.