Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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September 1, 2008

Japanese Prime Minister Announces Resignation
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1DF9C48:A6F02AD83191E160F82A1977C66503A67F0EB4B66EA3A89D&
 
Yasuo Fukuda announced his decision at a press conference Monday, after
struggling with poor public approval ratings for months 
Yasuo Fukuda (File)Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has announced
his resignation. Mr. Fukuda announced his decision at a press conference
Monday, after struggling with poor public approval ratings for months.
Mr. Fukuda took office last year after his predecessor, Shinzo Abe,
abruptly resigned amid a series of corruption scandals. Mr. Fukuda has
struggled to implement his political agenda since then because the
opposition Democratic Party controls the powerful upper house of
parliament and has blocked a number of his initiatives. The upper house
of parliament passed an unprecedented motion to censure the prime
minister in June. The lower house, dominated by Mr. Fukuda's ruling
coalition, rejected the motion.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


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