TOKYO () -- Two major voter surveys showed Tuesday that Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto could be heading for a victory in Japan's elections that would put his party back in sole charge of the government.


The findings -- the first to suggest the Liberal Democratic Party, or LDP, would clinch a parliamentary majority in Sunday's vote -- were applauded by the stock market as a sign of a return to stability after three years of coalition rule.


The polls showed the LDP was likely to win a simple majority of 251 seats in the 500-seat Lower House.