Mr Aso's disapproval rating rose to a high of 67 per cent, up three points from last month, according to the weekend telephone poll which drew valid responses from 2,138 voters. -- PHOTO: AP
TOKYO - JAPANESE Prime Minister Taro Aso's popularity has hit a new low three months after taking office, as he continues to reject demands for a snap election, according to opinion polls published on Monday.
A survey in the influential Asahi Shimbun showed his government's approval rating at 19 per cent, down from 22 per cent last month and 48 per cent in late September when he took power in the world's second-largest economy.
Watanabe to quit ruling party
TOKYO - A FORMER Japanese financial services minister said on Monday he would quit the ruling party, dealing a blow to Prime Minister Taro Aso, whose leadership is fraying as he tries to revive the recession-hit economy.
Mr Yoshimi Watanabe, a vocal critic of Mr Aso's policies, told reporters he would hand in a letter to the party on Tuesday.
His disapproval rating rose to a high of 67 per cent, up three points from last month, according to the weekend telephone poll which drew valid responses from 2,138 voters.
Mr Aso took office following a leadership election in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has ruled Japan for most of the past half century.
His main task is to lead the conservative party through a general election which must be held by September.
Experts say the LDP faces a tough battle if it hopes to win a lower house election, with the resurgent opposition already in control of the upper house after an election in mid-2007.
Mr Aso, under fire for a series of verbal blunders, has also failed to impress voters with his economic measures, despite his pledge to put 'policies before politics'.
However he has surprised ruling and opposition blocs by clinging to power amid growing demands for a snap election.
Another telephone poll by the mass-circulation Yomiuri Shimbun showed his government's approval rating slipping to 20.4 per cent, down half a point from last month.
Its disapproval rating was 72 per cent, up six points. The Yomiuri poll was based on responses from 1,056 voters.
Mr Aso is the third prime minister from the LDP to take charge in little over two years.
His government's plan to hand out a total of two trillion yen (S$33 billion) - 12,000 yen (S$198) per person - to bolster consumption has been criticised by the opposition as a bait for votes.
The Asahi poll showed 63 per cent of those questioned were against the cash handout, and three in four believed that it was 'ineffective' as an economic measure.
In the Yomiuri vote, 78 per cent were against the plan. -- AFP
