(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The popularity of Japan’s government plummeted just before the prime minister announced his resignation, according to a poll by Nikkei. 29 per cent of respondents approve of Yasuo Fukuda’s appointed cabinet, down nine points since July.

In September 2007, Fukuda was elected as the new leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and officially sworn in as Japan’s prime minister, substituting Shinzo Abe. Fukuda served as chief cabinet secretary during the premierships of Yoshiro Mori and Junichiro Koizumi. He is also the son of former Japanese head of government Takeo Fukuda.

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.

On Aug. 1, Fukuda enacted a cabinet shuffle. Kaoru Yosano took over as economy minister, and Bunmei Ibuki became the new finance minister.

On Sept. 1, Fukuda announced he would step down as he felt "swamped" by the country’s issues. The prime minister explained his decision, saying, "Today, I have decided to resign. We need a new line-up to cope with a new session of parliament. (...) I have determined that now is the most opportune time, in which we will not create a political void. (...) I thought it would be quite different if somebody new would take care of this."

Fukuda did not call a general election. An internal LDP leadership ballot will determine who the new prime minister is. The next lower house election is not due to take place until September 2009.

Polling Data

Do you approve or disapprove of Yasuo Fukuda’s cabinet?

Source: Nikkei
Methodology: Interviews with 866 Japanese adults, conducted from Aug. 29 to Aug. 31, 2008. No margin of error was provided.

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