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Japans Prime Minister Resigns
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda announced on Monday night that he would resign, abruptly ending his chronically unpopular government after just a year and leaving Japans governing party scrambling to find fresh leadership ahead of crucial national elections.Mr. Fukudas surprise announcement, made at a hastily called news conference on Monday night, stunned Japan and appeared to plunge the worlds second largest economy into further political confusion. Last year, Mr. Fukudas predecessor, the rightist Shinzo Abe, made an equally sudden resignation. Mr. Fukudas decision was particularly unexpected because he took office last September as a veteran political insider widely counted on, after Mr. Abes hasty departure, to bring stability and restore the Liberal Democratic Partys tarnished credibility. In the end, Mr. Fukuda, 72, lasted about as long as Mr. Abe roughly a year. Doesn't seem like ggod news to me. Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-09-01 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=248843 |