(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Support for the administration of Japanese prime minister Yasuo Fukuda dropped last month, according to two recent public opinion polls. In a survey by Nikkei, 55 per cent of respondents approve of the appointed cabinet, down four points since September.

In a study by Kyodo News, 50.2 per cent of respondents approve of Fukuda’s government, down 7.6 points in a month.

In September, Fukuda—a 71-year-old moderate who favours closer ties with Asia—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.

Fukuda retained many of Abe’s collaborators in the new Japanese cabinet. Nobutaka Machimura—who served as foreign minister under Abe—was appointed as chief cabinet secretary, Masahiko Komura is now in charge of foreign affairs, and Shigeru Ishiba has taken over as defence minister.

An election to renew half of the House of Councillors seats took place in July. 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.

Japan did not commit its Self-Defence Forces to combat duties in Afghanistan, but has participated in a naval mission by offering logistical support and fuelling assistance in the Indian Ocean.

On Oct. 30, Fukuda expressed his concern over a disagreement with the DPJ on the extension of Japan’s naval mission in Afghanistan, saying, "What makes me most concerned is how to overcome the current Diet situation, where the two houses of the Diet have different opinions. I think (DPJ leader Ichiro) Ozawa has the same problem. (...) I believe we need to hold more meetings like this. We have to continue talks following the meeting today, to find common ground at some point."

Yesterday, the Defence Ministry ordered the return of its ships from the Indian Ocean, after the government was unable to garner enough support to extend the mission. Acting DPJ president Naoto Kan declared: "This mission of the last six years is coming to an end just as we were starting discussions on its nature and significance."

Polling Data

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

Source: Nikkei
Methodology: Interviews with 911 Japanese adults, conducted from Oct. 26 to Oct. 28, 2007. No margin of error was provided.

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

Source: Kyodo News
Methodology: Interviews with 1,026 Japanese adults, conducted on Oct. 27 and Oct. 28, 2007. No margin of error was provided.

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