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Hatoyama Drops Below 50% in Japan
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Public support for the Japanese government dropped considerably last month, according to a poll by Kyodo News. 47.2 per cent of respondents approve of Yukio Hatoyama’s cabinet, down 16.5 points since November.
In August 2009, Japanese voters renewed the House of Representatives. Final results gave the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) a victory with 308 of the 480 lower house seats at stake. Hatoyama, the DPJ leader, was sworn in as prime minister in September.
Aside from a brief period in the 1990s, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) had administered Japan’s government for more than five decades.
Last month, Hatoyama was criticized after it was revealed that political donations registered under the names of several individuals actually came from his mother. The Japanese prime minister has acknowledged receiving a monthly contribution of about $164,000 U.S. from his mother, but vowed to pay back taxes and penalties amounting to about $6.5 million U.S.
Yesterday, Japanese finance minister Hirohisa Fujii tendered his resignation, citing poor health. Hatoyama appointed deputy prime minister Naoto Kan to replace Fujii, adding, "He submitted the medical test results and letter of resignation this afternoon, and since it was about his health concern, I could not help accepting his resignation."
Polling Data
Do you approve or disapprove of Yukio Hatoyama’s cabinet?
|
Dec. 2009 |
Nov. 2009 |
|
|
Approve |
47.2% |
63.7% |
|
Disapprove |
38.1% |
25.1% |
Source: Kyodo News
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,030 Japanese adults, conducted on Dec. 25 and Dec. 26, 2009. No margin of error was provided.
