Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Katsuya Okada indicated Sunday that party leader Yukio Hatoyama should serve as prime minister for four years if the opposition party takes power in the Aug. 30 general election.
"We have presented a four-year road map in our manifesto. If we win the House of Representatives election, keeping Hatoyama as premier during this period will be a consensus among the people," Okada told reporters in the city of Chiba.
Okada also suggested that if the DPJ wins power the lower chamber should not be dissolved before its four-year term is due to end.
The DPJ, the largest opposition party, is seen as having a good chance of wresting power from the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito party in the upcoming general election.