Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda announced his resignation in a news conference hastily called Monday night. It was like a replay of the resignation of his predecessor Mr. Shinzo Abe almost a year ago. Both Mr. Abe and Mr. Fukuda surrendered their Cabinet less than one year after they came to power.
In his announcement, Mr. Abe said his failure to get Democratic Party of Japan leader Mr. Ichiro Ozawa to meet with him on the issue of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean, was the direct factor that led him to decide to resign.
Mr. Abe was criticized for acting irresponsibly because it was incomprehensible to many people why the failure to persuade an opposition leader to attend a meeting would justify a prime minister's resignation.