LEAD: Support rate for Hatoyama Cabinet up slightly at 63.7%: Kyodo poll+

TOKYO, Nov. 29 Kyodo -
(EDS: UPDATING WITH MORE DETAILS)
The support rate for Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's Cabinet stood at 63.7
percent in a Kyodo News survey conducted on the weekend, up marginally from
61.8 percent in the previous survey about a month ago.

In the nationwide telephone survey conducted Saturday and Sunday, 74.9 percent
of the respondents said they are dissatisfied with Hatoyama's explanations
about a political donations scandal he is embroiled in, up 6.9 percentage
points from the previous survey.
A total of 77.3 percent said they value the process under the current
government of scrutinizing wasteful spending through the Government
Revitalization Unit, which on Friday completed its initial examination of
fiscal 2010 budget requests from ministries and agencies.
The disapproval rating for Hatoyama's Cabinet went up 2.2 points to 25.1
percent. The support rate rose 1.6 points to 45.0 percent for the ruling
Democratic Party of Japan and declined 4.9 points to 16.2 percent for the
Liberal Democratic Party, which was toppled from power in an Aug. 30 general
election.
In the latest survey, calls were made to numbers randomly generated by
computer. A total of 1,471 eligible voters were reached, of whom 1,026 replied.
Analysts say the survey results reflect mixed evaluations for the Hatoyama
Cabinet by voters, many of whom are apparently impressed by its initiative of
reducing the power of bureaucrats in its waste-cutting drive but at the same
time are weary of the premier's funding scandal.
At the center of the scandal is Hatoyama's former secretary, who was in charge
of accounting for his political funds before being dismissed in June after the
scandal came to light.
Prosecutors suspect that more than 300 million yen may have been falsely
declared in Hatoyama's political funds reports and that his 87-year-old mother
may have contributed some of the money, according to sources close to the
matter.
Of those polled, 11.4 percent say Hatoyama should step down over the scandal in
contrast with 75.5 percent who say they want him to remain in office but think
he needs to offer proper explanations on the matter and then implement measures
to prevent similar situations.
Asked about the government's drive to scrutinize wasteful spending, 83.6
percent said it should be repeated next year and onward, with 54.8 percent
saying openness should be maintained in the budget formulation process.
As for key pledges featured in the DPJ's election manifesto, the majority of
respondents say they will accept policy changes by the ruling party in such
fields as child allowances, farm subsidies and making expressway toll-free.
Opinions were divided about how to relocate the heliport functions of the U.S.
Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture -- a sticking
point in the bilateral security alliance between Tokyo and Washington.
The LDP-led government and the United States agreed in 2006 that the Futemma
facility would move to Nago, another city in the prefecture, by 2014. But
Hatoyama has revisited the issue with a plan to move it out of the prefecture
or the country -- an idea that got support from 32.8 percent of survey
respondents.
Relocating the airfield to Nago in line with the bilateral agreement received
support from 25.4 percent, while 26.8 percent said they prefer a proposal by
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada to merge it with the nearby Kadena base.
==Kyodo
2009-11-29 20:30:34


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