He didn't speak. He'll announce that, it's said, next Tuesday at his Party's convention, and it will take effect early April, early next month. It's because of the combination of the two creating an opinion poll rating that's now only seven per cent, and the opinion polls are now feeding on themselves. Every time a new poll comes out, that influences his popularity and so the next poll is one or two per cent lower. Like Japanese interest rates, which are now the key rate at one-sixth of one per cent, the Prime Minister's popularity obviously can't get much lower than seven per cent.
Japan is effectively leaderless.
The leaders in fact would like him there, the faction leaders, for a little while, while they work out exactly who's going to replace him. His most recent gaff . It's Japan's economy which has had happened to it what happened - or what is likely to happen to Australia's on Wednesday, which is negative growth reported, the first sign of a recession. Japan's also had the indignity last week of losing it's triple-A credit rating. Those things have been pushing down the share market, plus the realisation that politicians can't save them.