This article incorrectly referred to Prime Minister Taro Aso as Japan's head of state. Emperor Akihito is the head of state; Aso is the head of government.
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Japan's Beleaguered Leader to See Obama
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Though Taro Aso's support at home is low, he says he wont' resign.
(Haruyoshi Yamaguchi - Bloomberg News)
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Kawai said that Aso's unpopularity is not just a function of his personality.
Japanese voters now recognize that the ruling party itself "has become a source of structural corruption," Kawai said.
"The Aso administration exists to win elections, not to cope with economic crisis," he said. "All the ruling party has really come up with is to distribute cash."
Aso's behavior has not helped his or his party's cause.
Here in the country with the world's oldest population, he has criticized the elderly for not keeping themselves healthy. He has scolded parents for not taking proper care of young children. He has accused physicians of lacking common sense in treating the sick.
As economic decline accelerated last fall, Aso spent most of his evenings in expensive restaurants and hotel bars before going home to his wife, according to newspaper accounts. Except for when he was overseas or dining with the emperor of Japan, he ate and drank at 32 establishments in Tokyo over 21 days, according to the Asahi newspaper. It said that on 10 of those days, he went to a bar after dining in a restaurant.
Aso told reporters that he frequents hotel bars because "they are safe and reasonably priced" and that he paid his own bar bills.
Aso's leadership has been criticized by Junichiro Koizumi, the prime minister who stepped down in 2006 but remains an influential voice in the ruling party. Koizumi has called some of Aso's comments "laughable" and suggested he may have to resign.
Although it remained unclear when an election would be held, the opposition Democratic Party of Japan has opened a significant lead over Aso's party, polls show.
The leader of the Democratic Party, Ichiro Ozawa, said over the weekend that Aso should resign because the public has no confidence in him. Aso responded by saying he would not allow the opposition to take over the government.
"No party other than the LDP can work on measures to stimulate the economy," he said.
Special correspondent Akiko Yamamoto contributed to this report.