The Japanese Prime Minister, Mr Keizo Obuchi, and his new government were damaged by record-low opinion polls and a plunging yen yesterday as they grappled with the recession-stricken economy.
Mr Obuchi was "examining" promised tax cuts and legislation for a bridge bank to take over failed banks, a source close to the Prime Minister said, although the focus was on his inaugural policy speech later this week.
His cabinet "scored the highest level of public opposition recorded for any newly-formed government," an Asahi newspaper telephone survey of more than 1,100 voters nationwide said.
According to the poll, 47 per cent did not support the new cabinet, the highest proportion since Asahi began the survey in 1955, and only 32 per cent expressed support, the third lowest on record.
"I accept it modestly," Mr Obuchi said in reference to the low support rate. "I should think of what I can do for people rather than mull ways to boost the figure," he added.
The priority for the Prime Minister was the policy speech he was to deliver to the Diet on Friday. "This is the very first official speech he is going to give as Prime Minister and whatever message he conveys to the people, we hope it will be received well," a source close to Mr Obuchi said.
The yen skidded to 145.63-65 against the dollar at 5 p.m. yesterday, briefly touching 145.71 in the afternoon, its lowest rate in about seven weeks. The currency was sharply down from 143.77-80 in Tokyo late on Friday and 140.5355 yen on July 24th, the day Mr Obuchi won the leadership race in the Liberal Democratic Party. Mr Obuchi promised a meeting of vice-ministers to take the right decisions in finance, the fiscal system, tax system and deregulation, "and put the Japanese economy on the recovery track as soon as possible".
The Finance Minister, Mr Kiichi Miyazawa, was partly to blame for the falling yen, analysts said, after he downplayed the importance of intervention in the markets in his first news conference.
Mr Obuchi said he was "monitoring" the market, but declined to comment on the level of the yen.