Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda over the weekend restated his resolve to demonstrate leadership on environmental and other issues at the Group of Eight summit in July, as he made his first visit to the main venue in Hokkaido.
But the 71-year-old prime minister must first address various tasks stemming from the political gridlock in the Diet, where the opposition bloc controls the House of Councilors, to clear up uncertainties about his administration, which has seen its support rating plunge in recent weeks.
"I will handle foreign and domestic politics at the same time. The Bank of Japan personnel and issues to do with the summit will also proceed simultaneously (in my mind)," Fukuda told reporters Friday before heading to Hokkaido, indicating his eagerness to engage in foreign diplomacy at the same time he addresses domestic woes.
Fukuda's two-day visit to the scenic hot-spring resort town of Toyako was his first since taking office last September, after his predecessor Shinzo Abe, who selected the Lake Toya area for the summit, abruptly announced his resignation.