TOKYO - JAPANESE voters expressed shock Tuesday at Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's sudden resignation, voicing concerns that the political chaos may worsen an economic slowdown.
'I am really surprised,' Mimari Kawai, a 40-year-old businesswoman, said as she strolled through the Tokyo shopping district of Ginza, a day after Mr Fukuda quit, faced with a deadlocked parliament and dwindling popularity.
She remembered that just one year ago Mr Fukuda's predecessor Shinzo Abe, a fellow member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), also suddenly quit under pressure.
'The LDP has to pay a price because they've thrown it away twice in a row,' Ms Kawai said.
Shinman Okuro, a 58-year-old businessman, said that the resignation would only aggravate problems in the world's second largest economy, which is on the brink of recession.
He denounced Mr Fukuda's resignation as 'ridiculous, irresponsible and egocentric'.
'It will lead to a more sluggish situation in the economy, which is already facing high inflation,' Mr Okuro said.
A 73-year-old pensioner, who declined to give her name, wished that the government would do more to help people who are struggling.
'I'm concerned about the future of the economy,' she said. 'It's hard for old people to live as prices are getting high. I'm uneasy about my future.' But other people say they have already given up hope that politicians will support the economy.
'He acted without any consideration. He didn't act like a leader,' said Hideyuki Kato, a 47-year-old salesman at a trading company. 'I don't have any expectations from politics now.'
Mr Kato said that Mr Fukuda represented 'the old politics of the LDP,' which has been in power for all but 10 months since its creation in 1955.
Just Friday, Mr Fukuda's government unveiled an 11.7-trillion-yen (S$143 billion) stimulus plan, which ministers insisted will go forward as planned.
Newspapers across the political spectrum also criticised Mr Fukuda's resignation.
'What a sudden abandonment of power it was,' the Mainichi Shimbun said in an editorial. 'Political irresponsibility has reached a climax.' The liberal Asahi Shimbun predicted a groundswell of support for the opposition, which took control of one house of parliament last year.
'We can't help but say that this is extremely abnormal and irresponsible.
It would be no surprise if people called for the largest opposition Democratic Party of Japan to take power,' it said.
The best-selling Yomiuri Shimbun worried about Japan's international image.
'The turmoil in Japanese politics will not only bewilder the Japanese people but also make the international community worry,' the conservative daily said. -- AFP
