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Track global public opinion on current issues.
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- Yasuo Fukuda
Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research
One-in-Four Japanese Support Fukuda
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Public support for Yasuo Fukuda’s administration continues to drop in Japan, according to a poll by Asahi. 25 per cent of respondents approve of the prime minister’s cabinet, down six points since late March.
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.
On Apr. 21, Fukuda met with South Korean president Lee Myung-bak. The Japanese prime minister discussed his views on North Korea, saying, "On the nuclear issue, we confirmed the need for North Korea to swiftly make a correct and full declaration. We agreed that Japan and South Korea would work together and that Japan, South Korea and the United States would cooperate more closely than before."
Polling Data
Do you approve or disapprove of Yasuo Fukuda’s cabinet?
|
|
Apr. 20 |
Mar. 30 |
Mar. 2 |
|
Approve |
25% |
31% |
32% |
|
Disapprove |
70% |
53% |
50% |
Source: Asahi
Methodology: Interviews with 686 Japanese adults, conducted on Apr. 19 and Apr. 20, 2008. No margin of error was provided.