Cabinet popularity nosedives to 35%

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The approval rating of the Cabinet of Prime Minister Naoto Kan plunged to 35 percent in the latest Yomiuri Shimbun opinion poll taken over the weekend, with the government's handling of the Senkaku Islands collision incident seen as a major factor for the fall.

The figure marks the least support for the Kan Cabinet since it was inaugurated in June, worse than the previous low of 38 percent polled on July 12-13 immediately after the House of Councillors election. In the last survey, taken Oct. 1 to 3, the Cabinet's approval rating was 53 percent.

The Cabinet's disapproval rating was 55 percent, up from the previous 37 percent and surpassing the approval rating.

The survey was conducted Friday through Sunday.

Major factors for the drop in popularity include the administration's handling of an incident in which a Chinese fishing boat collided with Japan Coast Guard patrol vessels off the Senkaku Islands; the economic situation, including deflation and the yen's appreciation; and the government's response to former Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa's indictment over a politics and money scandal. The public's dissatisfaction and frustration with the government was heightened over these issues, thus resulting in the poor approval rate, according to the Yomiuri's analysis.

In the random-digit-dialing format survey, out of 1,716 households found to have at least one voter present, 1,052 eligible voters, or 61 percent, gave valid answers.

Regarding the support rate for political parties, support for the DPJ also dropped to 28 percent from a previous 36 percent. Support for the major opposition Liberal Democratic Party, on the other hand, shot up to 23 percent from 16 percent.

On the DPJ-led government's diplomatic and security policies, respondents who said they feel anxiety, either greatly or moderately, climbed to 91 percent, up from October's 84 percent.

In a concrete example, 82 percent of people surveyed chose "not to value" the Kan Cabinet's actions concerning the Chinese fishing boat's collisions with JCG patrol boats.

Video images of the incident were leaked onto the Internet last week.

In the survey, 83 percent believe the footage should have been shown to the public, revealing strong dissatisfaction toward the government, which has yet to take such action.

The survey also found 68 percent think a visit by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Kunashiri Island, one of the four islands in the northern territories off Hokkaido, is "problematic."

The government told Ambassador to Russia Masaharu Kono to return home temporarily in a protest against Medvedev's Kunashiri visit.

However, 48 percent said, "More countermeasures should be taken," while 26 percent said, "The current action suffices." Fifteen percent said, "No more action is necessary."

Those who think the Kan Cabinet is responding appropriately to the current economic situation marked 12 percent, a sharp contrast to the 79 percent who think otherwise.

Concerning Ozawa's political funding scandal, 84 percent said the DPJ's response has been inappropriate. Another 84 percent think Ozawa should explain to the Diet his involvement or noninvolvement in the issue.

Due to a decision made by a Tokyo independent prosecution inquest panel that Ozawa be indicted, 55 percent said, "He should resign as a House of Representatives member," while 21 percent said, "He does not have to resign as a lower house member but should leave the DPJ." But 19 percent said, "He should neither resign as a Diet member nor leave the party."

61% for Japan joining TPP

Meanwhile, the opinion poll also found that 61 percent of respondents believe Japan should participate in the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, which aims to abolish tariffs among Pacific-rim nations.

The rate greatly surpasses the 18 percent who are against Japan's involvement, suggesting a majority of the public supports Japan's participation in the TPP.

Quite a few DPJ members are believed to be opposed to Japan's involvement in the strategic economic partnership agreement. However, even among DPJ supporters, those surveyed who think that "Japan should participate in the TPP" marked 71 percent.