Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda told his fellow Liberal Democratic Party members in the Diet on Wednesday he was sorry about his surprise decision to step down earlier this week.
"I would like to apologize to everyone for not being able to live up to your expectations," Fukuda said at a meeting for all LDP Diet members at party headquarters in Tokyo. "I came to this rational conclusion after thoroughly considering factors like the current situation of the government, the trend of public opinion and the outlook for the next Diet session."
The meeting was the first time that Fukuda, the LDP president, has spoken with his party since making Monday's surprise announcement. Once again, he explained it would be better for a new leader to take over to break the deadlock in the Diet by engaging the opposition parties, which control the Upper House.