Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda admits his job is tough and says a glass of wine can relieve the stress. But he draws the line at vodka.
Fukuda was slapped earlier this month with an unprecedented censure motion amid slumping approval ratings, weeks before he hosts the world's most powerful leaders at the Group of Eight summit.
"It's not really fun. Rather it's full of agony," Fukuda said of his job Tuesday when meeting news agencies of the G8 nations.
"If I do something new, then the media report it and it turns out to be even more stressful," said Fukuda, whose predecessor Shinzo Abe quit and checked into a clinic with severe stress last year.
Fukuda said that his tips for stress relief were sleeping and the occasional glass of wine.
Fukuda said that he liked both French and American wine, although he said he was not aware of any wine from Britain.
And, at risk of upsetting the Russians, the 71-year-old said he could not stomach vodka.
"It's good to have vodka sometimes, but at my age it's too strong."
Fukuda was elected Japan's prime minister last September after Shinzo Abe's sudden resignation because of "health problem".
日本首相福田康夫日前坦称，他时常会喝点酒来缓解工作压力，不过一般不喝伏特加。
福田康夫的民众支持率目前不断下跌，本月初，日本国会又史无前例地通过对福田首相的不信任动议，让福田再受打击，而此时距日本举办八国集团首脑峰会仅有几周的时间了。
福田康夫于本周二接受了峰会八国的一些媒体采访，他在谈及自己的工作体会时说：“当首相不是什么好玩的事，让人挺痛苦的。”
他说：“一旦我有个什么新动作，媒体就会报道，结果压力更大。”去年，日本前首相安倍晋三宣布辞职并因精神压力过大而生病住院。
福田说，他的减压秘诀就是睡觉和偶尔喝点酒。
福田说他喜欢法国和美国的红酒，不过觉得英国没什么好酒。
冒着得罪俄罗斯人的风险，71岁的福田说他喝不了伏特加。
“偶尔喝点伏特加挺好的，不过太烈了，不适合我这个年龄。”
福田康夫于去年九月当选日本首相。此前，安倍晋三因“健康问题”突然宣布辞职。
