Popular support for Aso slides as party unity frays

Tokyo: Support for Japan's gaffe-prone prime minister, Taro Aso, tumbled to around 30 per cent in two surveys released on Monday, as he struggles to rescue the economy from recession and keep his party from unravelling.

The long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) chose Aso in September in hopes the outspoken nationalist could win a mandate to break a stalemate that is stymying policies and has already forced two premiers to quit suddenly in less than a year.

But after just over two months, Aso's ratings are hovering at or below the 30 per cent level seen by many as critical for survival, and the potential for defections from the LDP is growing. A Nikkei business daily survey put support for Aso's cabinet at 31 per cent, down 17 points from late October, while a Fuji TV poll showed a fall of 17.1 points to 27.5 per cent.

Aso has come under fire from the opposition and within his own party for delaying the submission of a second extra budget to fund an economic stimulus package and for a series of gaffes offending groups from doctors and parents to ailing elderly. "Some lawmakers are thinking that they cannot win an election with the LDP, whether Aso is prime minister or someone else, so they are making moves to extend their political lives," said Yasunori Sone, a professor at Tokyo's Keio University.

"I don't think there will be new parties formed yet since people are not expecting an election until April or later, but there could be announcements (of new parties) about one month ahead of an election." No election for parliament's powerful lower house need be held until September 2009, and the 68-year-old Aso has said he wants to put priority on battling the worsening recession.

Just over half the respondents to the Nikkei survey said they wanted an election called by early in the New Year.