In Japan, ruling party lost a local election on Sunday in southern prefecture. Former Nagasaki vice governor Hodo Nakamura backed by opposition Liberal Democratic Party won a landslide victory over the ruling party candidate,former bureaucrat Tsuyoshi Hashimoto. Poll showed support for Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's cabinet almost halved since he took office five months ago. The election loss came after a series of accounting irregularities that have led to the indictment of former aides of Hatoyama and DPJ heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa.