(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Only one-in-four people in Japan think incumbent Taro Aso is the most suitable man for the job of prime minister, according to a poll by Yomiuri. 24 per cent of respondents prefer Aso as head of government, down nine points since June.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Only one-in-four people in Japan think incumbent Taro Aso is the most suitable man for the job of prime minister, according to a poll by Yomiuri. 24 per cent of respondents prefer Aso as head of government, down nine points since June.
Opposition leader Yukio Hatoyama is chosen as the most suitable prime minister by 41 per cent of respondents, down three points in a month.
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 Aso won an internal leadership ballot and was sworn in as Japan’s new prime minister.
In May, Yukio Hatoyama defeated Katsuya Okada in an internal ballot of DPJ lawmakers to become the new DPJ leader.
Earlier this month, DPJ candidate Heita Kawakatsu won the governorship race in Shizuoka—home to 3.8 million people—defeating LDP candidate Yukiko Sakamoto. This is the third time in a row that a DPJ candidate defeats a member of the ruling party in local ballots.
On Jul. 6, chief cabinet secretary Takeo Kawamura commented on the matter, saying, "The defeat of a candidate who was until recently an LDP upper house lawmaker is extremely disappointing. (…) We mobilized the entire organization of the party for the election."
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?
|
|
Jul. 2009
|
Jun. 2009
|
May 2009
|
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Yukio Hatoyama (DPJ)
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41%
|
44%
|
42%
|
|
Taro Aso (LDP)
|
24%
|
33%
|
32%
|
|
Not sure / Other
|
35%
|
23%
|
26%
|
Source: Yomiuri
Methodology: Interviews with 1,021 Japanese voters, conducted from Jul. 2 and Jul. 3, 2009. Margin of error was provided.
