Japanese PM says he will quit as LDP chief
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Japan's Prime Minister and leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Taro Aso leaves after speaking to journalists at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo August 30, 2009 after a lower house election.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) |
Prime Minister Taro Aso, who doubles as president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), said Monday that he will step down as LDP president.
At a press conference, Aso said that he means to do so to take the blame for the LDP' s defeat in Sunday's lower house election.
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Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso attends a press conference at the headquarters of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Tokyo, Aug. 31, 2009. Taro Aso resigned on Monday as LDP chief.(Xinhua/Ren Zhenglai) |
The defeat was caused by the LDP' s failure to appropriately address social problems, including Japan's expanding social disparity, and criticism against himself, he said.
On Sunday, Aso expressed his intention to resign as party chief after the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) scored a landslide victory over the LDP in the general election.
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Japanese Prime Minister and leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Taro Aso (R) bows next to the party's General Council Chairman Takashi Sasagawa at the start of a news conference at the party's headquarters in Tokyo August 30, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) |
The 68-year-old politician assumed the premiership last September following the abrupt resignation of his predecessor, Yasuo Fukuda.