Public critical of Abe holding on after disastrous election, but some voice sympathy

After Sunday’s crushing defeat for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Abe vowed to not resign despite the distressing results. The Asahi Shimbun went out on the streets of Tokyo and asked voters of their opinions.

“Abe said, ‘chose me or chose Ozawa’. Now that polls are in, he should resign” a 35-year old office worker on his way to work in Tokyo told the Asahi Shimbun. “The LDP TV commercial where they said ‘We will protect your pensions’, how could they come up with something like that? They don’t realize it’s them who have made people worried.“

Another 30-year old office worker was also critical of Abe. “Saying you won’t resign to fullfill your responsibilites [as Abe did] makes abolutely no sense,” he said. “I suppose there’s not anybody who wants to take over after all of this, but I do think that the the younger LDP generation should step up at a time like this.“

A 22-year old University student in Setagaya said, “The country said ‘No’, so why is he [Abe] going on? The responsibilty for the loss lies with the Prime Minister.“

Others are more understanding of the Cabinet. A 31-year-old housewife out for a stroll in Shibuya said she had been hoping for a more concrete debate on consumption tax and what to do about the declining birth rates. “The LDP lost only because of the scandals, not because of their policies. Chosing a new prime minister would be putting the cart before the horse.“

A 63-year-old retail shop owner said he feels the Prime Minister does bear the responsiblity for inaugurating the many ministers who slipped up, but also that “There is nobody to replace Abe, so I think it’s inevitable that he will continue on the post.“

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One response to “Public critical of Abe holding on after disastrous election, but some voice sympathy”

Should I stay or should I go now?, Aug 01 at 8:01 am :

[…] Sunday exit poll of voters revealed that 56% thought he should go. This led to further criticism when it was revealed he had no intention of doing so. His opponents had at least waited until the […]