TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's embattled Prime Minister Taro Aso is expected to call a general election for August 30, a ruling party official told reporters on Monday.
Public broadcaster NHK said earlier Aso had reached agreement on the poll timing in a meeting with ruling party executives.
The ruling bloc suffered a big defeat in a Tokyo election on Sunday, presaging a similar loss in the national poll. A win for the opposition Democratic Party in a lower house vote would end a half-century of nearly unbroken rule by the conservative Liberal Democratic Party and raise the chances of resolving a deadlock in a divided parliament as Japan tries to recover from recession.
(Reporting by Chisa Fujioka )
