(Untitled)

[sparklebiscuit]

So, Fukuda resigned last night.

Is anyone aware of the implications of this?  I am not exactly versed in any way in Japanese politics, but I have to wonder, since it was on pretty much every channel but NHK last night.

Comments

[fencer_x]

All I could think was, "Wow, Japan sure has rotten luck with PMs..."

Seriously, this is what number PM in how many years since Koizumi?

[andorus]

Just the 2nd--Abe came in after him. Still, he wasn't really in office all that often. I wonder why he resigned--he couldn't have been nearly as unpopular as Abe, right?

[sabishii_kirito]

Japan has a pretty decent history of going through PMs, though. Weren't there a few that didn't even make it to six months?

[roque]

hah, I don't have a TV so I learned about it through Yahoo News. what time did it happen? I was dealing with Japanese people all day, but I didn't hear a whisper.

[angeljapan]

He announced it at 9:30pm Monday night.

[murasaki_kaze]

So he resigned, too? Snap, that makes Abe AND Fukuda who only lasted a year or less. This is really making me start to wonder what's going on in the Diet and why the PMs are generally sucking at being able to do their job.

I wonder who's going to fill his shoes now? Aso? Someone else?

[sparklebiscuit]

I believe they said something about Aso being nominated for the position until the Diet is dissolved next year, or something like that.

[tabletopphantom]

I just saw that on CNN. Basically they will talk amongst themselves and nominate some new guy to replace him in a few weeks. Not much will change. Japanese politics are weird. He was the second PM since Koizumi. It's weird how they just resign. Why couldn't Bush just resign when he had 30% approval ratings?

[koshii]

So THAAAAAAT's what was going on. Jeeeeeez. I saw it but didn't really understand what they were on about. Too much kanji. o_o heheh..

Also, if Bush would just have resigned it woulda solved so many problems....

[theanphibian]

I think this guy got a grip on the situation pretty well:

http://www.japaneconomynews.com/2008/09/01/fukuda-steps-down-foriegn-media-doesnt-get-why/

Mr Fukuda’s resignation means that a special session of the diet will have to be called in addition to the extraordinary session. This gives the ruling party an extra 30 days to pass the bills they would otherwise not be able to get through in a shortened extraordinary session - this is a huge middle finger to the New Komeito Party and means that the extension to the refueling mission in the Indian Ocean will get fifity-nined through the diet - though the foreign media doesn’t get this.
Lots of people are throwing around stuff about the economy, but it's simply not related. About a week ago, Mori said on national TV that Fukuda was essentially done for. That was pretty much the final straw