Poll finds Japan’s new leaders have weak mandate, low voter expectations

TOKYO — Japan’s new government will have a shaky mandate when it takes office later this month, a poll indicated Wednesday, as party leaders acknowledged they must get to work immediately to deal with the country’s severe economic problems.

Poll finds Japanese voters chose opposition because of dissatisfaction with ruling party

TOKYO — Most Japanese voters chose the opposition in historic weekend elections because they were fed up with a half century of rule by the governing conservatives, not because they were enthused by what the opposition had to offer, a poll said Wednesday.

Opposition poised to win landslide victory in Japan, unseating long-ruling conservatives

TOKYO — Japan’s opposition swept to a historic victory in elections Sunday, crushing the ruling conservative party that has run the country for most of the postwar era and assuming the daunting task of pulling the economy out of its worst slump since World War II.

Japan’s ruling party concedes election defeat; opposition poised to win landslide victory

TOKYO — Japan’s Prime Minister Taro Aso conceded defeat in elections Sunday as media exit polls indicated the opposition had won by a landslide, sending the conservatives out of power after 54 years of nearly unbroken rule amid widespread economic anxiety and desire for change.

Japanese prime minister concedes defeat in election, suggests he will resign as party leader

TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso has conceded defeat in nationwide elections, suggesting he will step down from his position as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

NHK says exit polls show landslide victory for opposition Democratic Party of Japan

TOKYO — A TV report says exit polls show the opposition Democratic Party of Japan has won a landslide victory in nationwide parliamentary elections.

Japan votes in parliamentary elections; Opposition Democrats tipped to win

TOKYO — Japan voted Sunday in parliamentary elections expected to end the ruling conservative party’s nearly 54 years of power and give a largely untested opposition group a chance to make good on their promises to revive the ailing economy and turn around record-high unemployment.

Japanese vote in parliamentary elections; opposition tipped to win

TOKYO — Japan voted Sunday in parliamentary elections expected to end the ruling conservative party’s nearly 54 years in power and give a largely untested opposition a chance to make good on its promises to revive the ailing economy and turn around record-high unemployment.

Polls open in election for Japan’s lower house of parliament

TOKYO — Polls have opened in Japan’s nationwide parliamentary election.

Opposition appears headed for overwhelming win in Japan elections as voters seek change

TOKYO — Japanese cast ballots Sunday in hotly contested parliamentary elections in which the ruling conservative party, battered by a laggard economy and voter desire for change after more than half a century of virtual one-party rule, was expected to suffer an overwhelming defeat.

Opposition appears headed for overwhelming win in Japan as candidates make final appeals

TOKYO — The conservative party that has run Japan for virtually all of the past 54 years was widely expected to face overwhelming defeat as candidates made their final pitches Saturday in one of the most heated parliamentary elections in decades.

Poised for victory, Japan’s opposition party pushes new economic model for country

TOKYO — In one of the most heated political contests in recent memory, Japan’s opposition party is courting voters with an enticing promise: monthly cash for kids.

Rising fertility rates, immigration push Britain’s population over 61 million for 1st time

LONDON — Britain’s population took its biggest jump in almost half a century last year, as a baby boom made new births rather than immigration the main contributor to growth for the first time in a decade.

German beer sales hit lowest level since government began tracking them in 1991

BERLIN — Rainy weather, smoking bans, an aging population and a preference for more health-conscious fare have put a stout dent in the sale of beer in Germany, leaving the nation’s brewers ailing, a report said Thursday.

Census: World’s older population will triple by 2050, adding stress to government programs

WASHINGTON — The world’s 65-and-older population will triple by mid-century to 1 in 6 people, leaving the U.S. and other nations struggling to support the elderly.

Report says China’s rapidly aging population threatens social, economic stability

BEIJING — China’s rapidly aging population threatens the country’s social and economic stability and could affect the prospects of other countries around the world, a U.S. study says.