Chinese Character - Abe calls it quits amid political row

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Abe calls it quits amid political row

Updated: 2007-09-13 07:27

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe listens to questions during a press
conference at his official residence in Tokyo, where he announced his
resignation yesterday.AFP

TOKYO: Weakened by scandal and failure at the ballot box, Japan's
embattled prime minister announced yesterday he would quit after only a
year in office, bowing out amid a political brawl over the country's aid
to US-led forces in Afghanistan.

Shinzo Abe, at 52, Japan's youngest postwar prime minister, surprised
members of his party and even his own Cabinet by deciding to resign only
days after he pledged to stake his government on success of legislation
to extend a naval mission in the Indian Ocean.

The prime minister, whose government was severely damaged by a string of
scandals and the ruling party's loss of control of the upper house of
parliament in elections in July, said it was time for someone more
politically viable to shepherd the Afghan measure through the legislature.

"I decided a quick decision was necessary, and that a further delay would
cause political confusion," he told a nationally televised news
conference. "I find myself unable to keep my promises - I myself have
become an obstacle to fulfilling those promises."



Abe listed the election defeat and an opposition leader's refusal to meet
with him earlier in the day as signs that he could no longer lead.

It was clear that Abe's unpopular government had become a serious
liability for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which is facing
increasing calls from the resurgent opposition for snap elections to the
powerful lower house of parliament.

Four Abe-picked Cabinet ministers have resigned because of scandals.
Abe's support ratings have sagged to about 30 percent.

Abe did not announce a date for his departure. The LDP said it would use
a streamlined election process to choose a party president, reportedly
next Wednesday. The LDP leader is guaranteed election as prime minister
because of the party's control of the lower house.

Abe's former foreign minister, Taro Aso, is considered a front-runner to
replace him.

Abe announced his departure just as the government faced a battle in
parliament over the Indian Ocean mission, which the opposition has vowed
to defeat.

Japan's navy has been providing fuel for coalition warships in the Indian
Ocean since November 2001 under a special anti-terrorism law that has
already been extended three times. The legislation is a key issue of the
extraordinary parliament session that opened on Monday.

Though polls show public opinion is split on the issue, the government
should be able to push the legislation through because the ruling party
controls the lower house, which can override a no-vote by the upper house.

Yesterday, Abe suggested that his departure could aid bipartisan passage
of the bill. "I have pondered how Japan should continue its fight against
terrorism," Abe said. "I now believe we need change. Japan must continue
its fight against terrorism under a new prime minister."

The opposition criticized Abe for quitting just as the session was to
heat up - and vowed not to drop its fight against the naval mission, even
with Abe gone. "I've been a politician for nearly 40 years, but I think
this is the first time that a prime minister has remained in office after
the ruling party lost a majority... and expressed his resignation right
before parliamentary questioning," said Ichiro Ozawa, leader of the
opposition Democratic Party of Japan.

Agencies

(China Daily 09/13/2007 page1)

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