TOKYO , Japan ( CNN ) -- Voters in Japan will turn out for parliamentary elections Sunday in what poll after poll shows will be a historic shift in political power to oust the ruling party . Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso has approval ratings in the teens . The Liberal Democratic Party has been in nearly continuous control of Japan 's parliament for more than five decades . But the country 's worst economic crisis since World War II has led a normally sedate electorate to the polls , disgruntled with how slowly the country is emerging from the downturn . Polls show that the opposition , the Democratic Party of Japan , will snag more than 300 of the 480 seats up for grabs in the lower house of Japan 's parliament . If the DPJ does win a majority , it will be the first time it will govern the world 's second-largest economy . Leading the DPJ is Yukio Hatoyama , who has been mobbed at street rallies by supporters , the kind of support the opposition has never seen . Hatoyama is touting an Obama-style message of change , pledging to raise the minimum wage and discourage hiring through agencies or on temporary contracts . That message is gaining traction in a country that is witnessing historic highs in unemployment and experiencing ramifications like homelessness for the first time . Voters are looking for somebody to pay , and if the polls are right , that target is the current prime minister , Taro Aso . Aso 's approval ratings dwell in the teens , and his stimulus packages , though credited for lifting the economy slightly out of recession , are not being credited with helping households feel more secure about a lasting economic recovery . The LDP , in political ads and stump speeches across Japan , says the DPJ is making empty promises and ca n't pay for its proposed programs . CNN 's Kyung Lah contributed to this report .
Liberal Democratic Party has been on top for almost five decades . Voters disgruntled with slow progress on economic recovery . Democratic Party of Japan set for its first majority . DPJ 's Yukio Hatoyama has Obama-style message of change .