Profiles of major Japanese political figures

TOKYO; Japan goes to the polls on Sunday with a dozen parties vying for votes.

The governing Democratic Party of Japan is expected to be ousted, with the conservative Liberal Democratic Party predicted to return to power.

Herewith profiles of the leaders of major parties:

LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY:

Shinzo Abe, 58, is a conservative ideologue who favours revising the pacifist constitution, says he wants children to feel more patriotic and intends to push the central bank to print inflation-spurring cash.

If he becomes prime minister it will be his second time around. He was the first in a series of six short-lived and relatively powerless premiers when he took over from the charismatic Junichiro Koizumi in 2006.

This scion of a political dynasty was surrounded by scandals and had just led his party to electoral humiliation when he left office abruptly in September 2007, citing bowel problems.

His somewhat unlikely comeback -- he says his health is no longer a problem -- has been powered by hawkish pronouncements on defence and foreign policy.

While some commentators believe he could prove an albatross around the neck in Japan's tricky dealings with China, others note that he was a pragmatic prime minister, staying away from the controversial Yasukuni war shrine and visiting Beijing and Seoul.

THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF JAPAN:

Yoshihiko Noda, 55, has proved himself a deceptively canny operator during the 15 months of his premiership.

The former finance minister, who made a virtue out of his plain looks by comparing himself to an unattractive but tenacious bottom-dwelling fish, engineered legislation doubling sales tax to help plug budgetary holes.

He snookered his opponents with a promise he would dissolve parliament "sometime soon" if they supported the bill, and then managed to choose his moment to call an election, wrong-footing Abe in a parliamentary showdown.

Casting himself as a pragmatic centrist, Noda has stayed away from ideological policies.

But his decision to nationalise islands at the centre of a dispute with Beijing triggered anti-Japan sentiment in China where consumer boycotts hit Japanese companies.

Noda, who smokes and enjoys sake, is admired as a skilled orator and holds a black belt in judo.

JAPAN RESTORATION PARTY:

Shintaro Ishihara, 80, is an unreconstructed nationalist who resigned as Tokyo governor to return to national politics, initially at the head of his own party and then in concert with Osaka mayor Toru Hashimoto.

The award-winning novelist-turned-politician is known at home and abroad for his sharp tongue -- aimed at everyone from immigrants to homosexuals, the United States to China.

A self-styled irascible old man, he was unmovable over four elections in Tokyo, where he is credited with introducing tough environmental regulations.

It was his plan to buy islands disputed with China that sent relations between the two countries into freefall. But he is unrepentant and has repeated his determination that the "ugly" pacifist constitution be rewritten.

He has argued that Japan needs not only nuclear power, but also nuclear arms if it is to make its voice heard on the international stage.

JRP founder and now its number two, Osaka mayor Toru Hashimoto is a populist with a vicious wit that he has been unafraid to turn on the media, establishment parties and even his own staff in Japan's second largest city.

He is not running in this election, preferring to shout from the sidelines on behalf of party candidates. Commentators say the temptation to take a tilt at national politics in some future poll may prove too much for him to resist.

However, some note that his brand may not stand the test of time, saying the jerry-rigged coalition he has cobbled together with Ishihara is heavy on ambition but light on detail and will likely split asunder.