(04/10/09) -

Many Japanese Shun Both Aso and Ozawa

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Two-in-five Japanese adults appear ready to see a different political leader emerge as the country heads to a legislative election, according to a poll by Yomiuri. 39 per cent of respondents cannot choose either of the two main party leaders to become the next prime minister of the country.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Two-in-five Japanese adults appear ready to see a different political leader emerge as the country heads to a legislative election, according to a poll by Yomiuri. 39 per cent of respondents cannot choose either of the two main party leaders to become the next prime minister of the country.

In all, 34 per cent of respondents would like to see incumbent Taro Aso of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) as head of government, while 27 per cent would select opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).

Aside from a brief period in the 1990s, the 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 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 Aso won an internal leadership ballot and was sworn in as Japan’s new prime minister.

Ozawa—a former member of the LDP—has been head of the opposition party since 2006. Ozawa has been urged to resign after his chief aide Takanori Okubo was accused of accepting close to $212,000 U.S. in illegal donations from Nishimatsu Construction.

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.

Japan’s exports have been especially affected by the global economic crisis. On Apr. 6, Aso’s administration introduced a $99 billion U.S. stimulus package to boost the sagging economy. The sum will be added to another billionaire package previously introduced. The prime minister acknowledged that the plan may not be enough to save the Japanese economy in the short term, saying, "Japan’s economic growth rate is expected to fall the most among advanced nations."

The next election to the House of Representatives must be held on or before Sept. 6, 2009. Sitting prime ministers can dissolve the Diet and call an early ballot at their discretion.

Polling Data

Who would you prefer as prime minister?

Source: Yomiuri
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 1,050 Japanese voters, conducted on Apr. 4 and Apr. 5, 2009. Margin of error was provided.