The ruling and opposition blocs are heading for a showdown in the general election as the opposition bloc in the Upper House on Tuesday passed a censure motion against Prime Minister Aso Taro and started boycotting all Diet proceedings. Separately, in the Lower House, the ruling bloc earlier in the day had voted down the opposition bloc's no-confidence motion against the Aso Cabinet.

On Monday, Mr. Aso had announced he will dissolve the Lower House next week and hold a snap election Aug. 30. The runup to the election will allow each group time to overcome its weakness and devise appealing and persuasive election promises.

What is unusual with regard to Mr. Aso's decision is that it is unclear what he wants to achieve if his party wins the election. In the wake of the retrenchment policy line pursued by the administration of then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, the social security of the nation, including pensions and medical services, has weakened, creating anxiety among people about their future lives. The global financial crisis also has caused a downturn in the economy and made many people jobless.

The Aso administration has gradually demolished Mr. Koizumi's policy line by showering money on various projects to stimulate the economy. But Mr. Aso has not made clear what kind of grand policy line he would like to pursue. Within the LDP, party bigwigs continue to demand a replacement for the unpopular Mr. Aso. But focusing attention on finding a figure who merely attracts voters on election day will lead to further political decay.

The opposition Democratic Party of Japan, meanwhile, is receiving support from voters fed up with Mr. Aso's politics as reflected by DPJ victories in a series of important local elections, including its impressive showing in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election last Sunday. But calling only for a change of government will not satisfy voters. Each party needs to show voters what it thinks are the basic problems the nation is facing and how to overcome them. A political party's basic function is to work out workable policies.

With the nation at a critical juncture, the latest developments portray an LDP in sheer confusion unbecoming to a ruling party. It would not be far-fetched to say that the party lacks both integrity and the power to unify its members under its leader, Mr. Aso.

For one thing, the unsuccessful attempt by Mr. Makoto Koga, chairman of the LDP Election Strategy Council, to recruit Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru of Miyazaki Prefecture, a former comedian, as an LDP candidate in the coming general election has tarnished the LDP's reputation because Mr. Koga's sole purpose appeared to have the popular governor serve as leverage to boost the LDP's popularity.

Such public relations-oriented gestures at a time when people want a grand vision for the future of Japan and solid policy proposals from the political parties only help to increase people's distrust of the LDP.

Mr. Higashikokubaru told Mr. Koga that he would accept running on the LDP ticket if he were treated as a candidate in an LDP presidential election. That episode shows just how lightly the LDP's status as a ruling party is treated by a prefectural governor in his first term.

Mr. Koga resigned as an expression of responsibility for his failed approach to Mr. Higashikokubaru and the LDP's crushing defeat in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election. Mr. Koga was supposed to play a commanding role in the coming general election. Many people will now think that they cannot entrust government to a party whose election strategy chief runs away just before the election.

Although LDP Lower House members united in voting down the opposition forces' no-confidence motion against the Aso Cabinet, what followed is beyond normal comprehension. Some LDP lawmakers have intensified efforts to pick a new party president to replace Mr. Aso, hoping that the new leader will help the LDP get more votes in the general election.

Former LDP Secretary General Hidenao Nakagawa and others have led this move by calling for a conference of LDP members from both chambers of the Diet. Such a conference can decide to move forward the date of an LDP presidential election. If this keeps up, we may see the strange case of a new party president leading the election campaign while Mr. Aso remains as prime minister. Those calling for the conference have collected enough signatures under party rules to get the leadership to hold it.

The outlook is ominous for Mr. Aso. Two Cabinet members — Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano and farm minister Shigeru Ishiba — have already told Mr. Aso in person that the LDP under his leadership will lose in the general election, hinting that he should step down.

There is even a move among some anti-Aso LDP lawmakers to run as LDP candidates under election promises that differ from the party's official platform. Such campaigns would destroy the principle of party politics.