Embattled Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama announced his resignation Wednesday, apparently to boost the Democratic Party of Japan's chances in the House of Councillors election expected in July, which many DPJ lawmakers felt they had little chance to win under Hatoyama's leadership.
Hatoyama also said he had asked DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa to step down. Ozawa reportedly agreed.
He made the announcements at a general meeting of DPJ lawmakers from both chambers of the Diet.
Hatoyama had been under mounting pressure from his own party to resign as the approval rating for his Cabinet recently dropped below 20 percent and the Social Democratic Party quit the DPJ-led ruling coalition over its opposition to the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station within Okinawa Prefecture.
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http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20100602dy01.htm
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