Asia-Pacific
Support for Japan PM falls amid fund scandal
(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-01-18 16:19
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 Japan's ruling Democratic Party Secretary-General Ichiro Ozawa is surrounded by reporters after attending the party's annual convention in Tokyo January 16, 2010. [Agencies] |
Pressure to Resign
Equally disturbing for the government, the percentage of those planning to vote for the ruling party in the upper house election fell to 28 percent from 35 percent in the Yomiuri poll.
That compared to 21 percent who said they would opt for the opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), little changed.
But 70 percent of respondents to the Yomiuri survey said Ozawa, who stepped down as party leader last year over a separate scandal, should resign from his No. 2 post.
"Parliament opens today and our mission is to enact the extra budget as quickly as possible ... and by so doing, realise policies that put priority on the people's livelihoods."
The Democrats and their allies could ignore any opposition boycott but doing so could further erode voter support.
Political uncertainty weighed on investor confidence, with investors worried the funding scandal might hamper the budget debate, but the impact has so far been limited.
"Markets seem to be taking a wait-and-see approach so far as Ozawa's funding scandal is unlikely to prevent the passage of planned budgets in the parliament and thus would not raise the risk of the economy worsening at least in the coming month or two," said Seiji Adachi, senior economist, Deutsche Securities.
The Democrats swept to power in an August election that ended more than half a century of nearly unbroken LDP rule, pledging to refocus spending on consumers and cut wasteful spending to help rein in Japan's ballooning public debt.
But they need to win an outright majority in parliament's less powerful upper chamber to break free of two small allies who often disagree on policy and ensure smooth passage of laws.
One of the Democratic Party's most powerful figures, Ozawa was credited by many with engineering the party's huge August election win and his expertise is thought vital to winning this year's upper house poll.
Prosecutors have also come under fire recently after it was found that they had prosecuted innocent people in the past.
