May 08, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Less than a fifth of adults in Japan are satisfied with their government, according to a poll by Kyodo News. 19.8 per cent of respondents approve of the cabinet appointed by Japanese prime minister Yasuo Fukuda, down 6.8 points since April.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Less than a fifth of adults in Japan are satisfied with their government, according to a poll by Kyodo News. 19.8 per cent of respondents approve of the cabinet appointed by Japanese prime minister Yasuo Fukuda, down 6.8 points since April.

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.

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 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.

During the American occupation that followed Japan’s surrender in 1945 after World War II, a clause was included in the Constitution which stated that Japan’s military would only play a defensive role, and prohibited the use of force as a means to settle international disputes. Fukuda has said Japan should consider several constitutional amendments in order to relax existing limits on military action.

On May 4, activists took to the streets of Chiba, outside of Tokyo, demanding that the government refrain from changing the constitution. Organizers of the protest issued a statement, which read: "We believe that Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution constitutes a world-class model for peace and should be protected as a global treasure for future generations."

A constitutional amendment requires the support of two-thirds of the House of Representatives, two-thirds of the House of Councillors, and more than half of all voters in a nationwide referendum.

Polling Data

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

	May 2008	Apr. 2008	Mar. 2008
Approve	19.8%	26.6%	33.4%
Disapprove	66.6%	59.6%	50.6%

Source: Kyodo News
Methodology: Interviews with 1,478 Japanese adults, conducted on May 1 and May 2, 2008. No margin of error was provided.