- Resignation of Prime Minister Fukuda
September 2 and 3, 2008
September 4, 2008 (Morning Edition of the Asahi Shimbun)
The poll was conducted by telephone from the evening of September 2 through the evening of September 3 with voters from across Japan, whose telephone numbers were selected by a computer at random. Subjects were selected using a three-stage random sampling method (the Asahi RDD). The total number of those polled was 1,069, with a 58% response rate. Decimals were rounded up. Portions of some answers have been abbreviated. Figures in parentheses are the results of a survey conducted on August 30 and 31, 2008.
Survey
Q1. Prime Minister Fukuda has announced his resignation. Do you think it is a good thing that Mr. Fukuda has decided to resign, or not?
| Good thing | 46% |
| Not a good thing | 34% |
Q2. Do you think that it was irresponsible of Mr. Fukuda to announce his resignation at this point in time, or not?
| Irresponsible | 66% |
| Not irresponsible | 25% |
Q3. Following former Prime Minister Abe, Mr. Fukuda is the second prime minister to resign suddenly after less than a year in office. Has this changed your impression of the Liberal Democratic Party for the worse, or not at all?
| Changed for the worse | 51% |
| No change at all | 44% |
Q4. How do you evaluate Mr. Fukuda’s performance during the year that he served as prime minister? Please select one from the following list:
| Very favorably | 1% |
| Somewhat favorably | 29% |
| Not very favorably | 47% |
| Not at all favorably | 21% |
Q5. Who do you think would be good as the next prime minister? Please select one of the following members of the Diet.
| Taro Aso | 30% |
| Ichiro Ozawa | 8% |
| Junichiro Koizumi | 4% |
| Koike Yuriko | 3% |
| Yoichi Masuzoe | 1% |
| Nobuteru Ishihara | 1% |
| Katsuya Okada | 1% |
| Seiko Noda | 1% |
| Other politician | 4% |
Q6. Which political party do you currently support?
| Liberal Democratic Party | 29% (26) |
| Democratic Party of Japan | 21% (20) |
| Komeito | 3% (3) |
| Japan Communist Party | 1% (3) |
| Social Democratic Party | 2% (1) |
| The People’s New Party | 0% (0) |
| The New Party of Japan | 0% (0) |
| Other | 0% (0) |
| Do not support any party | 37% (40) |
Q7. Do you think that the House of Representatives should be dissolved and a general election held as soon as possible, or do you think that there’s no need to rush?
| As soon as possible | 56% (43) |
| No need to rush | 33% (45) |
Q8. If the general election were being held today, which party would you vote for in your proportional-representation district? Please answer with the party’s name.
| Liberal Democratic Party | 28% (27) |
| Democratic Party of Japan | 32% (31) |
| Komeito | 4% (3) |
| Japan Communist Party | 3% (4) |
| Social Democratic Party | 2% (2) |
| The People’s New Party | 1% (0) |
| The New Party of Japan | 0% (0) |
| Other | 0% (1) |
Q9. Do you think that it would be best for the administration to continue to be centered on the LDP? Or do you think that there should be a changing of the guard, to an administration centered on the Democratic Party of Japan?
| Administration centered on the LDP | 32% |
| Administration centered on the DPJ | 41% |
