Saturday, September 6, 2008
Japan’s Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Monday announced his intention to resign, one month after he reshuffled his cabinet. At a press conference held from 9:30 p.m. Fukuda stated that he decided to resign, thinking the government should implement policies with a new line-up. The cabinet will resign en masse and a new prime minister will be designated. Before that, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will elect a new President.
Since the July 2007 election (to replace half the members) in the upper house, the ruling bloc (LDP and New Komeito) has been minority, while being overwhelming majority in the lower house since the 2005 General Election. Fukuda took over Shinzo Abe as a LDP President, and became Japan’s Prime Minister on September 26, 2007.
Contents
- 1 Surprise announcement
- 2 Early resignation
- 3 Fukuda’s self-appraisal
- 4 Reactions
- 4.1 The ruling bloc
- 4.2 The opposition
- 5 Sources