seat lower house, but still had a good chance to form a government by winning the largest number of seats. The Democrats had 175 seats before the chamber was dissolved and its own research compiled earlier this week showed they were in danger of losing as many as 25. Kan, however, said two weeks was enough time to hit their target, since floating voters can change their minds quickly. "There's still a chance to win a majority. It's tough now ... because unaffiliated urban voters suddenly shifted towards the LDP. If this reverses, there's a good chance we can win because the likelihood of winning seats in rural districts is growing." Kan, 58, was replaced by Democratic Party chief Katsuya Okada last year, but remains a key figure in the party. Kan said that ultimately, Koizumi's success or failure rode on whether his gamble to risk all on the issue of privatizing the postal system, which has $3 trillion in assets and includes the world's largest deposit-taking institution, was a good tactic. "Everyone knows that privatizing the postal system isn't some magic trick that will solve everything. Right now, he has hypnotized people to think it's the thing that matters," he said. "Whether that works or not will decide the outcome of this election."
