ID :
127056
Thu, 06/10/2010 - 07:44
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/127056
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Cabinet`s support rate surges to 62% under new PM Kan
TOKYO, June 9 Kyodo -
Public support for new Prime Minister Naoto Kan's Cabinet hit 61.5 percent,
surging from the 19.1 percent logged for the previous Cabinet in the final days
of his predecessor Yukio Hatoyama, a Kyodo News poll showed Wednesday.
The latest telephone poll, conducted following the launch of Kan's new Cabinet
on Tuesday, showed that public support for the Democratic Party of Japan has
risen to 43.8 percent from 36.1 percent in the previous survey last Friday and
Saturday.
Kan formally launched his Cabinet amid hopes his inauguration will increase the
party's chances in the House of Councillors election expected to be held next
month, and voters appear to have responded positively to the leadership change
so far. The Cabinet's disapproval rate stood at 25.2 percent.
''I am delighted and encouraged that people in the country have great
expectations of this Cabinet,'' Kan told reporters after the release of the
poll.
The poll results could boost calls within the DPJ for the upper house election
to be held on July 11, regarded as the most favorable date if parliament ends
its regular session on June 16 as currently scheduled without being extended.
But more time may be required to enact major pieces of legislation pending in
parliament, notably the postal services reform proposal, which is strongly
advocated by the DPJ's coalition partner, the People's New Party.
Eighty percent of respondents to the poll said they approve of Kan's
appointment of DPJ lawmakers who are not close to former party Secretary
General Ichiro Ozawa as Cabinet ministers and new DPJ executives, compared with
15.7 percent who said they disapprove of the appointments.
Ozawa stepped down from the party's No. 2 post last week along with Hatoyama,
who resigned both as DPJ chief and prime minister.
Twenty percent of the respondents said they support the main opposition Liberal
Democratic Party, down 0.8 percentage point from the previous survey, while 7.4
percent said they support Your Party and 2.8 percent the small opposition New
Komeito party.
Asked which party they will vote for in the upper house election, 43.8 percent
said the DPJ, while 21.6 percent picked the LDP. In the previous survey, 32.6
percent said they would vote for the DPJ, with 23.4 percent choosing the LDP.
While the initial support rating for the Kan Cabinet is a far cry from the 72.0
percent enjoyed by the Hatoyama Cabinet, it is still the sixth highest approval
rating among the 13 Cabinets launched since 1991, after the governments of
Junichiro Koizumi, Morihiro Hosokawa, Hatoyama, Shinzo Abe and Ryutaro
Hashimoto.
Kan, deputy prime minister and finance minister in the Hatoyama Cabinet, has
said he will place priority on rebuilding public finances, a stance endorsed by
78.5 percent of respondents.
Those who approve, or more or less approve, of the idea of raising the nation's
5-percent consumption tax rate came to a combined 57.7 percent.
A majority, or 52.2 percent, said they approve of Kan's policy of handling the
relocation of a U.S. Marine base in Okinawa on the basis of a recent bilateral
agreement that seeks to move the controversial base to a location already
prescribed in an earlier deal.
In contrast, those who disapprove of the policy came to 34.5 percent.
The Social Democratic Party, which broke away from the ruling coalition over
Hatoyama's decision to endorse the Futenma relocation deal, secured a support
rate of 2.1 percent.
Those who said they do not support a particular party came to 16.1 percent.
The approval rating for the Hatoyama Cabinet dropped below the 20 percent line
late last month for the first time in Kyodo News polls, dealing a blow to his
government and the DPJ ahead of the upper house election. Hatoyama offered to
resign soon afterward.
The rating, which stood at 72.0 percent immediately after the Sept. 16 launch
of the government, tumbled to 36.3 percent in early March and declined further
to 20.7 percent in late April.
The latest poll, conducted Tuesday and Wednesday, covered 1,448 households with
eligible voters randomly selected nationwide, of whom 1,021, or 70.5 percent,
provided valid responses.
==Kyodo
Public support for new Prime Minister Naoto Kan's Cabinet hit 61.5 percent,
surging from the 19.1 percent logged for the previous Cabinet in the final days
of his predecessor Yukio Hatoyama, a Kyodo News poll showed Wednesday.
The latest telephone poll, conducted following the launch of Kan's new Cabinet
on Tuesday, showed that public support for the Democratic Party of Japan has
risen to 43.8 percent from 36.1 percent in the previous survey last Friday and
Saturday.
Kan formally launched his Cabinet amid hopes his inauguration will increase the
party's chances in the House of Councillors election expected to be held next
month, and voters appear to have responded positively to the leadership change
so far. The Cabinet's disapproval rate stood at 25.2 percent.
''I am delighted and encouraged that people in the country have great
expectations of this Cabinet,'' Kan told reporters after the release of the
poll.
The poll results could boost calls within the DPJ for the upper house election
to be held on July 11, regarded as the most favorable date if parliament ends
its regular session on June 16 as currently scheduled without being extended.
But more time may be required to enact major pieces of legislation pending in
parliament, notably the postal services reform proposal, which is strongly
advocated by the DPJ's coalition partner, the People's New Party.
Eighty percent of respondents to the poll said they approve of Kan's
appointment of DPJ lawmakers who are not close to former party Secretary
General Ichiro Ozawa as Cabinet ministers and new DPJ executives, compared with
15.7 percent who said they disapprove of the appointments.
Ozawa stepped down from the party's No. 2 post last week along with Hatoyama,
who resigned both as DPJ chief and prime minister.
Twenty percent of the respondents said they support the main opposition Liberal
Democratic Party, down 0.8 percentage point from the previous survey, while 7.4
percent said they support Your Party and 2.8 percent the small opposition New
Komeito party.
Asked which party they will vote for in the upper house election, 43.8 percent
said the DPJ, while 21.6 percent picked the LDP. In the previous survey, 32.6
percent said they would vote for the DPJ, with 23.4 percent choosing the LDP.
While the initial support rating for the Kan Cabinet is a far cry from the 72.0
percent enjoyed by the Hatoyama Cabinet, it is still the sixth highest approval
rating among the 13 Cabinets launched since 1991, after the governments of
Junichiro Koizumi, Morihiro Hosokawa, Hatoyama, Shinzo Abe and Ryutaro
Hashimoto.
Kan, deputy prime minister and finance minister in the Hatoyama Cabinet, has
said he will place priority on rebuilding public finances, a stance endorsed by
78.5 percent of respondents.
Those who approve, or more or less approve, of the idea of raising the nation's
5-percent consumption tax rate came to a combined 57.7 percent.
A majority, or 52.2 percent, said they approve of Kan's policy of handling the
relocation of a U.S. Marine base in Okinawa on the basis of a recent bilateral
agreement that seeks to move the controversial base to a location already
prescribed in an earlier deal.
In contrast, those who disapprove of the policy came to 34.5 percent.
The Social Democratic Party, which broke away from the ruling coalition over
Hatoyama's decision to endorse the Futenma relocation deal, secured a support
rate of 2.1 percent.
Those who said they do not support a particular party came to 16.1 percent.
The approval rating for the Hatoyama Cabinet dropped below the 20 percent line
late last month for the first time in Kyodo News polls, dealing a blow to his
government and the DPJ ahead of the upper house election. Hatoyama offered to
resign soon afterward.
The rating, which stood at 72.0 percent immediately after the Sept. 16 launch
of the government, tumbled to 36.3 percent in early March and declined further
to 20.7 percent in late April.
The latest poll, conducted Tuesday and Wednesday, covered 1,448 households with
eligible voters randomly selected nationwide, of whom 1,021, or 70.5 percent,
provided valid responses.
==Kyodo
