Japanese Prime Minister brushes off ratings fall, party rebel quits

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso on Monday said he would not quit despite a spate of public opinion polls that show his support levels below 20 percent and again ruled out calling a snap election. But in a sign of Aso's fraying control, a former financial services minister said he would leave the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) after weeks of criticising Aso's policies.
The world's second-biggest economy is in trouble as the global financial crisis deepens. Japan's economy slid into recession in the July-September quarter and analysts say GDP in the October-December period would likely have contracted the sharpest in 34 years.
"I won't abandon the leadership," Aso told Fuji Television, appearing on a popular news programme soon after returning from a visit to South Korea where he sought to boost economic ties. Aso was chosen by the LDP last September to win over voters ahead of an election for parliament's powerful lower house that must be held by September. His two predecessors quit after about a year in office after their popularity ratings collapsed, while other past premiers with high disapproval ratings have resigned.
Analysts now say the ruling coalition could well lose the election, as the gaffe-prone prime minister struggles to show leadership on reviving the economy as it comes under the threat of rising bankruptcies and job layoffs. While Aso has announced a record budget for the fiscal year starting in April and two other extra budgets for the current year, he faces trouble in parliament, where opposition parties control the upper house and can delay bills.
The stalemate has sparked speculation Aso may agree to a snap poll in return for an opposition pledge not to delay the budget. Aso dismissed the idea, saying economic policies came first. "If I dissolved the lower house immediately, would that be an effective economic policy?" he said. "Politics would halt for two months."
Aso also brushed off fresh signs his grip over the ruling party was wavering as its lawmakers grow anxious about the party's chances of winning the next election. Yoshimi Watanabe, a former financial services minister, told reporters he would give a letter to the LDP on Tuesday saying he would leave the party.