However, it should be said he has brought back a sense of calm to his country, which had gone through a tumultuous five years under the flamboyant Mr Junichiro Koizumi and an unsettling one year under Mr Abe. A steadying phase is positive in its own way. But Mr Fukuda has not given the Japanese people what they really crave - a greater sense of security to fortify themselves as they move into an uncertain future. The political horizon remains hazy; it is unlikely to clear up any time soon. Besides, new scandals involving the defence and health ministries leave Mr Fukuda not much time or leeway to pursue loftier goals. Well aware of the tight political straits he is in, he continues to adopt a conciliatory attitude towards the opposition Democratic Party, seeking compromise at every possible turn. As is to be expected, however, his calls have mostly been ignored.

For now, his main priority appears to be to hold off the assault for as long as he can. After being trounced in July, the LDP is in no hurry to go through another election, especially with voters still enraged over pension and health issues and the latest talk of raising the sales tax. Speaking at his alma mater, Waseda University, last weekend, Mr Fukuda referred to himself as not a 'man of talent' but a 'late bloomer'. The latest survey by Mainichi Shimbun gave him a popularity rating of 46 per cent, down 11 points from a month ago. This is revealing. Unless he asserts himself soon in the policy sphere, besides showing stout governance, he may well end up as yet another caretaker leader.