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Japanese PM to Quit to "Restore Public Trust in Politics"
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori announced Wednesday that he will step down from the top government post to make way for a new government that will be able to regain public trust in politics.
"The reason I decided to resign is because I want to restore the people's trust in politics," Mori said at a nationally televised press conference.
"To do that, I decided there must be a change in personnel, and that the government and the ruling bloc should make efforts under a new system," Mori said in his first resignation announcement to the public.
Mori agreed last month to move up the presidential election for his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from September, paving the way for his resignation as Japanese prime minister and leader of the LDP.
Although the move was widely interpreted as a de facto resignation statement, Mori initially did not admit that in public. He has since told his cabinet and members of the ruling bloc about his plans to quit, but had never made a statement to the public.
"Although I am still halfway (into my term), I feel that I was able to cut a path to a certain degree in various areas," Mori said, citing the enactment of the fiscal 2001 budget, and the passage through the Diet (parliament) of bills on information technology.
Mori, 63, also said that whoever becomes his successor would continue policies he put in place.
Four contenders are vying for the party's top post, which also carries the job of Japanese prime minister as the LDP-led coalition holds a majority in the powerful House of Representatives, which has the final say in selecting a prime minister.
Mori agreed to bring the party race forward after coming under strong pressure from lawmakers in the ruling bloc who were worried that having the deeply unpopular prime minister in office would worsen their chances in the House of Councillors election in July.
Public support for Mori's cabinet dropped to below 10 percent in February due to a string of verbal gaffes and scandals involving Mori and his party, as well as public frustration over Japan's sagging economy.
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