(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The new government of Japan begins its term with the support of almost half of the country, according to a poll by Kyodo News. 48.6 per cent of respondents approve of Japanese prime minister Taro Aso’s appointed cabinet.

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.

On Sept. 1, 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 Sept. 24.

Last month, Koizumi said he will not run for a seat in the next election to the House of Representatives. Aso has been critical of Koizumi’s structural reforms, and has vowed to focus his agenda on economic recovery rather that pursue further amendments to the country’s basic laws. Aso recently commented on the former prime minister’s policies, saying, "People whose vested interests were slashed away by the reforms were negatively affected. The more drastic the reforms, the more strains are imposed on such people. So we need to take measures to modify the situation."

Polling Data

Do you approve or disapprove of Taro Aso’s cabinet?

Source: Kyodo News
Methodology: Interviews with 1,028 Japanese adults, conducted on Sept. 24 and Sept. 25, 2008. No margin of error was provided.

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