Around the World: Japan

PM's ratings slide

Support for Japan's gaffe-prone prime minister, Taro Aso, tumbled to around 30 percent in two surveys released yesterday, as he struggles to rescue the economy from recession and keep his party from unraveling.

The long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) chose Aso in September in hopes the outspoken nationalist could win a mandate to break a stalemate that is stymying policies and has already forced two premiers to quit suddenly in less than a year.