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Japanese Prime Minister resigns

01 September 2008 16:03 (UTC +04:00)

Tokyoâ€“APA. Japan’s Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda announced his resignation after less than a year in office Monday.
Fukuda, in a hastily arranged evening news conference, said he was stepping down to avoid a "political vacuum" as the deeply troubled government heads into a special parliamentary session later in the month.
Fukuda, whose father also served as Prime Minister, has suffered from chronically low approval ratings as he presided over the Parliament split between the ruling party and the opposition. One poll published Monday showed his approval rating at 29 percent, down sharply over the past month.
Fukuda recently installed former Foreign Minister Taro Aso as secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Aso has kept a low profile during nearly all of Fukuda’s term and could be seen as offering a fresh start for the party.