Japanese PM admits he is not the man to push through key policies
By
Kwan Weng Kin, Japan Correspondent
Mr Fukuda has been an unpopular leader, and even his party members have accused him of being ineffective. -- AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda surprised the nation last night when he announced he was stepping down after barely one year in office.
'I believe a new leadership should take over in order to win approval for key policies in Parliament,' he told a hastily-arranged press conference at the Prime Minister's Office.
Political observers said former foreign minister Taro Aso, now secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), appears to be the front-runner in the race to succeed Mr Fukuda.
But other contenders, such as former LDP secretary-general Hidenao Nakagawa, have not been ruled out.
In a sense, Mr Fukuda's resignation had not been unexpected.
His own party members had accused him of backpedalling on economic reforms and not doing enough to propel the economy forward. The global rise in oil and commodity prices did not make the job any easier for him.
Mr Fukuda's popularity also failed to rise even after he hosted the Group of Eight leaders' summit in July to great fanfare and after conducting a major Cabinet reshuffle on Aug 1.
The latest nationwide poll published by the influential Nikkei business daily yesterday showed his popularity had again dipped below 30 per cent.
The LDP therefore did not consider Mr Fukuda capable of leading the party into a general election, which must be held before September next year.
Looking grim but calm, Mr Fukuda told reporters last night that he had made up his mind last weekend to resign shortly after his Cabinet had put the final touches on a major economic stimulus package worth about 11.7 trillion yen (S$154 billion).
He said setting the economy back on its feet had been a top priority when he reshuffled his Cabinet last month.
But he said political developments after that had convinced him that he should step down to make way for a new leader.
'I am certain that there is a difference between me carrying on as leader and having a new leader handle things,' he said.
He claimed the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) had made his life miserable by repeatedly rejecting key Bills during the last parliamentary session.
Mr Fukuda said a new prime minister would ensure that Parliament would go more smoothly.
Besides the stimulus package, the Japanese leader had hoped to get parliamentary approval to extend a Japanese military refuelling mission in the Indian Ocean and to set up a consumer affairs agency.
But in recent weeks, he was reported to be also at odds with the LDP's coalition partner, the Komeito party, over the timing of possible early general election, the refuelling issue and the implementation of a tax rebate to ease consumer woes caused by rising food and oil prices.
Mr Fukuda explained that he had chosen this time to resign to avoid a political vacuum, rather than do so after Parliament was in session.
The LDP is expected to elect a new party president to succeed Mr Fukuda before Parliament sits on Sept 12. Whoever becomes the new LDP leader is virtually guaranteed the premiership because of the party's control of the Lower House.
If the Upper House picks a different person as prime minister, as it is likely to do because it is controlled by the opposition, the Lower House's choice prevails.
Mr Fukuda is the second Prime Minister to resign in less than a year. He took over from an ailing Mr Shinzo Abe on Sept 26 last year after the latter decided he was too ill to carry on. Mr Fukuda denied that he had any health problems.
