Briefly: Minshuto backs off Fukuda censure

Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) has decided to drop its plan to submit a censure motion against Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda during the current Diet session, sources said over the weekend.

The main opposition party had threatened to corner the Fukuda Cabinet with a censure motion, but apparently decided it does not need to resort to the move in the wake of its victory in the Lower House by-election in Yamaguchi Prefecture last month.

The decision also follows the results of opinion polls by the media showing that approval ratings for Fukuda's Cabinet have further slid to around 20 percent.(IHT/Asahi: May 5,2008)