(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The administration of Japanese prime minister Taro Aso has dramatically lost support, according to a poll by Asahi. 67 per cent of respondents now disapprove of Aso’s appointed cabinet, up three points since December.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The administration of Japanese prime minister Taro Aso has dramatically lost support, according to a poll by Asahi. 67 per cent of respondents now disapprove of Aso’s appointed cabinet, up three points since December.
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.
On Jan. 18, during the party’s convention, Aso urged LDP legislators to support his proposed measures to deal with the slumping economy—which many in his own ranks have criticized—saying, "We will lead the charge against the current crisis, first by fighting with all of our strength to enact the economic measures."
Polling Data
Do you approve or disapprove of Taro Aso’s cabinet?
|
|
Jan. 2009 |
Dec. 2008 |
Nov. 2008 |
|
Approve |
19% |
22% |
37% |
|
Disapprove |
67% |
64% |
41% |
Source: Asahi
Methodology: Interviews with 1,100 Japanese adults, conducted on Jan. 10 and Jan. 11, 2009. No margin of error was provided.
