Cabinet disapproval rate rises to 67% in latest Kyodo poll

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TOKYO, Dec. 26 Kyodo -
The disapproval rating for Prime Minister Naoto Kan's embattled Cabinet rose to
67.0 percent, an all-time high in opinion polls conducted by Kyodo News, the
latest poll showed Sunday.
In the nationwide telephone poll conducted Saturday and Sunday, the support
rating for the Cabinet came to 23.6 percent, the same as in the previous survey
in late November.
The latest disapproval rating follows 73.2 percent logged by the Cabinet of
former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in May, just prior to his resignation.
The survey covered 1,453 randomly selected households with eligible voters and
valid responses were received from 1,034 individuals.
Regarding a funding scandal involving Ichiro Ozawa, a heavyweight of the ruling
Democratic Party of Japan, 70.0 percent say Ozawa should provide proper
explanation about it in the Diet, while 27.1 percent said it will suffice if he
gives an explanation in court after his indictment which is expected in
January.
Meanwhile, 81.1 percent say they feel Kan lacks leadership over how to deal
with the scandal.
Only 18.4 percent said they favorably view the draft budget for fiscal 2011,
while 76.0 percent said they do not think much of it.
The poll also found that 56.2 percent would like to see a lower house
dissolution for an election to directly survey the will of the people on the
budget and budget-related laws compiled by the government led by the DPJ.
Of those who were for a lower house dissolution, 58.4 percent said it should
take place as soon as next year, while 25.5 percent said the dissolution should
take place at the expiration of lower house members' term of office in 2013 and
11.1 percent said it should be after 2012.
Asked which party is suitable as the DPJ's coalition partner, 10.8 percent said
the Liberal Democratic Party, while 8.2 percent picked the Social Democratic
Party and 5.2 percent said the New Komeito party.
The approval rate for the DPJ was 20.6 percent, compared with 22.1 percent
logged in the previous poll, while the rate for the major opposition LDP was
24.6 percent, the same as in the previous poll.
On the draft budget, 68.1 percent said they do not approve of the government's
decision to raise monthly child allowances from 13,000 yen to 20,000 for some
recipients, while 30.6 said they approve of the decision.
Public opinion was divided on the outlays to ensure incomes for domestic
farmers with compensation programs included in the budget plan, as 44.8 percent
said they value it, while 45.6 percent said they do not.
Opinion about tax reform was also split as 42.7 percent said they approve of a
corporate tax cut in order to help companies boost domestic employment, while
45.6 percent said they do not appreciate such a cut.
About the government decision to limit deductions from taxable income for
salaried workers with annual pay of more than 15 million yen, which will
virtually increase tax on individuals, 60.2 percent were in favor of it, almost
double the 32.8 percent who did not.
==Kyodo