(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Japan’s government continues to be immensely unpopular, according to a poll by Nikkei. Only 19 per cent of respondents approve of prime minister Taro Aso’s appointed cabinet, while 76 per cent disapprove of it.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Japan’s government continues to be immensely unpopular, according to a poll by Nikkei. Only 19 per cent of respondents approve of prime minister Taro Aso’s appointed cabinet, while 76 per cent disapprove of it.
Aside from a brief period in the 1990s, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has administered Japan’s government for more than five decades. An election to renew half of the House of Councillors seats took place in July 2007. Final results gave the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) 60 of the 121 seats at stake, with the governing LDP winning 37 mandates. The opposition—with 137 seats—now holds a majority in the upper house of Japan’s Diet for the first time since the LDP was founded in 1955.
Since the retirement of Junichiro Koizumi, Japan has had three different LDP leaders and prime ministers. Shinzo Abe served from September 2006 to September 2007, and was replaced by Yasuo Fukuda. In September 2008, Fukuda announced he would step down as he felt "swamped" by the country’s issues. Foreign minister Taro Aso won an internal leadership ballot and was sworn in as Japan’s new prime minister.
Since 2007, defaults on so-called subprime mortgages—credit given to high-risk borrowers—in the United States caused volatility in domestic and global financial markets and ultimately pushed the U.S. economy into a recession. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth. The crisis has affected the global financial and credit systems, and triggered layoffs in companies around the world.
On Jan. 28, facing criticism from his party colleagues, Aso vowed to introduce new measures to save the ailing Japanese economy, saying, "The world is entering an unprecedented recession and Japan cannot evade this. (…) By taking bold measures, I seek to have Japan be the first to emerge from this recession."
Polling Data
Do you approve or disapprove of Taro Aso’s cabinet?
|
|
Jan. 2009 |
Dec. 2008 |
Nov. 2008 |
|
Approve |
19% |
21% |
31% |
|
Disapprove |
76% |
73% |
62% |
Source: Nikkei
Methodology: Interviews with 925 Japanese adults, conducted on Jan. 24 and Jan. 25, 2009. No margin of error was provided.
