(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The popularity of Japan’s appointed cabinet has stalled, according to a poll by Asahi. 31 per cent of respondents approve of the administration of prime minister Yasuo Fukuda, down one point since early 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 Mar. 31, the government said it would extend a fuel tax that was due to expire that same day. The opposition DPJ fiercely opposes the levy, but the government does not require its approval in the legislature to pass the extension before Apr. 29. Fukuda said the tax is needed to finance a road construction plan, adding, "I apologize from the bottom of my heart for passing the bill onto the Japanese people.’’

Polling Data

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

Source: Asahi
Methodology: Interviews with 1,033 Japanese adults, conducted on Mar. 29 and Mar. 30, 2008. No margin of error was provided.

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