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Japanese PM Fukuda steps down

01/09/2008

Japan's prime minister Yasuo Fukuda has unexpectedly announced his resignation, continuing an uncertain period for the country's political life.

The 72-year-old stepped down less than a year after taking over from Shinzo Abe, triggering another leadership election process for the beleaguered Liberal Democratic party (LDP).

''It is necessary to try to implement measures under a new framework... I thought now is the best time [to resign] to avoid a political vacuum," the Kyodo news agency reported him as saying.

Mr Fukuda has been frustrated by opposition to his policies by the upper house of Japan's parliament, after his predecessor Shinzo Abe lost control of it in elections in 2007.

He has struggled to push through much-needed reforms to Japan's pensions system, which contributed to the 2007 electoral defeat, and today admitted that a new team was required to push through change.

The Reuters news agency quoted him as saying: "If we are to prioritise the people's livelihoods, there cannot be a political vacuum from political bargaining, or a lapse in policies." A general election must take place by September 2009.

Taro Aso appears the immediate favourite to succeed Mr Fukuda. But the charismatic former foreign minister will be wary after his experience in last year's elections, when the LDP's desire for a stable and predictable leader resulted in his own campaign being usurped by Mr Fukuda.