Amid the dwindling approval rate of Prime Minister Taro Aso, triggered by a series of gaffes coming out of his own mouth and by disgraceful behavior of his right-hand man in the international arena, the conventional wisdom would call either for him to resign and hand over the reins of government to Ichiro Ozawa of the No. 1 opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), who in turn would dissolve the Lower House and call a general election, or for Aso and Ozawa to agree to dissolve the Lower House for an early election.
Neither of these scenarios appears likely to materialize, however, as Aso shows no intention whatsoever of stepping down or calling an election anytime soon. Moreover, even those members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) who distance themselves from Aso are not keen on calling an early election, and are instead thinking of naming another clown to lead the party and the government.
One of the decisive factors that have caused Aso's popularity to plummet was the state of apparent intoxication in which his closest colleague, then Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa, spoke to the press in Rome on Feb. 14 following a meeting of the Group of Seven industrialized nations.