Japanese prime minister resigns

Wednesday, 12 September 2007

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced he is resigning after less than a year in office.

Mr Abe had faced growing calls to go since his Liberal Democrats lost the upper house, but had held out, saying he wanted to push through reforms.

Visibly distressed, he told a packed news conference that Japan needed a new leader to "fight against terrorism".

His party is set to meet next week to pick a new PM and analysts say a fresh general election is unlikely.

On Sunday, Mr Abe had staked his job on extending Japan's naval support for the US-led mission in Afghanistan beyond a current November deadline.

Opposition parties had vowed to delay the measure and news of the resignation, coming just before a parliamentary debate, took some analysts by surprise.

Mr Abe, who is seen as a nationalist, took over as prime minister a year ago. At 52, he was Japan's youngest post-war head of government.

But his poll ratings plummeted amid a row over pensions and a series of financial scandals involving cabinet ministers.

The Liberal Democrats are due to meet on 19 September to choose a new leader who automatically becomes prime minister, according to Japanese TV.

Their secretary-general, Taro Aso, a close Abe ally who is seen to share most of his hawkish views on security policy, is tipped by many for the post.

Heavy blow

Mr Abe did not give a date for his departure from office but said he had instructed party leaders to search for a new premier.

"In the present situation it is difficult to push ahead with effective policies that win the support and trust of the public," he said.

"I have decided that we need a change in this situation."

"The people need a leader whom they can support and trust," he added.

Cabinet-level resignations and the disastrous defeat at the recent upper house elections left Mr Abe unable to gain momentum on any of his major policies.

But despite his many problems, his resignation still deals a heavy blow to the Liberal Democrats.

Surprise timing

Japanese shares closed slightly lower following the resignation.

Mr Abe's announcement came as a surprise to some as he had been due to answer questions in parliament later on Wednesday over plans to extend the Japanese naval mission in support of US-led operations in Afghanistan.

Mizuho Fukushima, head of the opposition Social Democratic Party, condemned the timing as "irresponsible", adding that he should have left office after the July election defeat.

Koichi Haji, chief economist at NLI Research Institute, also said the move had come as "a huge surprise".

"He said he would risk his job in passing the anti-terrorism law, so I don't know why he is resigning before making the effort," he said.

Mr Haji suggested the resignation would have only limited impact on economic policy but he did expect stock prices to "get hit" because of the political uncertainty.