Japanese PM Hatoyama quits before elections

Japanese PM Yukio Hatoyama resigned on Wednesday. He became the fourth Japanese leader to leave office in a year or less.

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama announced on Wednesday that he and his powerful party DPJ,would resign after a slide in the polls threatened their chances in an election expected to take place next month. With this resignation,Hatoyama became the fourth Japanese leader to leave office in a year or less.

The demand for his resignation was raised in Hatoyama’s Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ),to revive the party’s fortunes ahead of an election for the upper house of parliament expected on July 11. Hatoyama’s ratings slid on voter doubts about his leadership,while the old-style image of Ozawa,seen as pulling strings behind the scene,had also eroded public support.

With tears in his eyes,Hatoyama told party lawmakers that he and party secretary-general Ichiro Ozawa would resign. “In order to revitalize our party,we need to bring back a thoroughly clean Democratic Party. I would like to ask your cooperation,” Hatoyama said.

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Analysts have tipped outspoken Finance Minister Naoto Kan as the frontrunner to replace Hatoyama,who quits after just eight months on the job. A new leader will be chosen in a few days,a party official said.

Hatoyoma’s Democrats swept to power last August after a landslide election win for parliament’s powerful lower house,ousting the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) after more than 50 years of almost non-stop rule.

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