Tick-tock, tick-tock

Cabinet approval ratings

1) The Asahi Shimbun national telephone poll, conducted April 19-20: 25%

Previous result, poll conducted March 29-30: 31%

Down 6%.

2) Nihon Keizai Shimbun national telephone poll, conducted April 18-20: 29%

March poll: 31%

Down 2%.

Both April findings are new lows for the present cabinet.


Party popularity

3) Sankei Shimbun, Tokyo metropolitan area poll of 500 voters, April 17:

Which party will you vote for in the next House of Representatives election?

Democratic Party 29.0%
Liberal Democratic Party 20.8%
New Komeito 2.8%
Communist Party 1.8%
Socialist Party 0.0%
People's New Party 0.0%
Destroy my ballot 1.2%
No idea 43.8%


So when Yamamoto gets thrashed in the Yamaguchi #2 by-election next weekend (not the poor fellow's fault really. It is just not the time to be a Construction Ministry alumnus neophyte LDP candidate running against a popular former district representative from the DPJ) will the LDP backbenchers win a promise from the party bigwigs of a timetable for Fukuda's resignation?

Or will they establish a yet another set of inter-party study groups (you can never join just one) instead?