(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The government of Yasuo Fukuda is not satisfying most of the public in Japan, according to a poll by Mainichi. 46 per cent of respondents approve of the prime minister’s appointed cabinet, down 11 points since September.

Last month, 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.

On Oct. 16, Fukuda urged lawmakers from all political parties in the House of Councillors to work together, saying, "Instead of finding fault with each other, we should have constructive debates. Given that the situation [in which opposition parties have a majority in the upper house] may last a long time, both sides should consider what they’re aiming for."

Polling Data

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

Source: Mainichi
Methodology: Interviews to 1,064 Japanese adults, conducted on Oct. 20 and Oct. 21, 2007. No margin of error was provided.

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