日本首相鸠山由纪夫在支持率大幅度下滑后宣布辞职，设法提高他所在党在即将举行的中胜出的机率。
鸠山由纪夫周三表示，他没有实现竞选的承诺，将美国海军陆战队基地迁离冲绳岛。冲绳岛上的民众常年抱怨驻扎在那里的美军。
上个月，鸠山由纪夫同意根据华盛顿和上届日本政府在2006年签署的协议，在冲绳重新安置美军基地。
周三，日本执政党民主党成员、财政大臣菅直人成为继任首相的热门人选。鸠山由纪夫是四年来第四位辞职的日本首相。
民主党将于周五举行会议，提名首相继任者。由于民主党在国会众议院占多数席位，它提名的人选几乎必然将成为下届首相。
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has resigned in a bid to improve his party's chances in upcoming elections following sharp declines in his approval ratings.
Mr. Hatoyama said Wednesday he failed to keep a campaign promise to move a U.S. Marine base off the Japanese island of Okinawa, where some residents have complained for years about the U.S. military presence.
He agreed last month to relocate the base within Okinawa under terms of a 2006 deal with Washington signed by a previous Japanese government.
Japanese Finance Minister Naoto Kan of the ruling Democratic Party emerged Wednesday as a frontrunner to succeed Mr. Hatoyama, the fourth prime minister to resign in four years.
The party meets Friday to nominate a successor and its choice almost certainly will become the next prime minister as the Democratic Party has a majority in parliament's lower house.
