Poll: Kan still public's pick in DPJ race

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Prime Minister Naoto Kan remains the overwhelming preference among the public to win the upcoming Democratic Party of Japan presidential election, as a festering scandal haunts his rival, Ichiro Ozawa, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun survey.

Kan was supported by 66 percent of respondents to the survey, while Ozawa, a former DPJ secretary general, had the backing of just 18 percent.

Kan had more support than Ozawa on every key issue on which the candidates are divided, including the party manifesto, a possible increase in the consumption tax rate and the controversial relocation of a U.S. base in Okinawa Prefecture.

The opinion poll, taken Friday through Sunday, canvassed 1,728 eligible voters by telephone about whether Kan or Ozawa was better suited to be party leader. Of them, 1,170, or 68 percent, gave valid answers.

The DPJ presidential race is scheduled for next Tuesday, and appears too close to call.

In the previous poll, taken Aug. 28 and 29 before the election was officially announced, Kan was supported by 67 percent of respondents and Ozawa by 14 percent.

Among DPJ supporters, 74 percent think Kan is best suited to be party president, while 20 percent believe Ozawa is the man for the job. In the previous survey, the figures were 77 percent for Kan and 17 percent for Ozawa.

Concerning implementation of the manifesto for last year's House of Representatives election, a major focus of the presidential race, 71 percent of respondents support Kan's intention to revise its content if necessary, while 17 percent preferred Ozawa's insistence that its core policies should be implemented whatever the cost.

Kan's position that the functions of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture should be relocated to Nago in the same prefecture in line with a Japan-U.S. agreement was backed by 47 percent of respondents, trumping the 36 percent who felt Ozawa's intention to restart negotiations on the matter with the prefectural and U.S. governments was the better plan.

Kan also had superior numbers--52 percent versus 38 percent--on the consumption tax issue. Kan wants to hold discussions on tax system reform--including the consumption tax--as part of social security reform, while Ozawa says he will not raise the rate in the near future.

Ozawa's advocacy of gradually increasing the DPJ's child-rearing allowance and paying the full promised sum of 26,000 yen per month from fiscal 2012 found little support among respondents. Just 24 percent thought this was a good plan, but 68 percent did not.

A money scandal hanging over Ozawa also hurt him in the survey, with 85 percent of respondents saying they "weren't convinced" by his explanation that "investigations by prosecutors have shown there were no illegalities" committed by his political fund management organization. Nine percent said they believed Ozawa's explanation.

Ozawa's fund management body has been accused of falsifying financial reports in connection with a land purchase.

The leadership race was neck and neck when it came to handling the economy. When asked, "Who do you think can restructure Japan's economy?" Kan was chosen by 37 percent of respondents, Ozawa by 36 percent.

The only issue on which Ozawa fared better than Kan was on the possibility of implementing politics at politicians' initiative. On this question, Ozawa outscored Kan 43 percent to 39 percent.

However, 37 percent of respondents said Kan could better navigate the divided Diet as DPJ leader, while 32 percent felt Ozawa was better equipped for this task.

Twenty-three percent of respondents said the DPJ can unite under the new leader after the election, but 63 percent said the party would not be able to do so.

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Cabinet support rises to 59%

Growing public support for Kan in the DPJ race has trickled down to support for his Cabinet, according to the survey.

The support rate for the Cabinet has jumped to 59 percent, up from 54 percent in the previous survey, while the disapproval rate fell seven percentage points to 28 percent.

The DPJ was supported by 35 percent of respondents, down from the previous survey's 38 percent. The Liberal Democratic Party's support rate dropped to 19 percent from 21 percent. New Komeito climbed from 3 percent to 5 percent, while Your Party lost one point to 5 percent.