Support rate for Aso Cabinet down further to 18.1%+

TOKYO, Feb. 9 Kyodo -
The support rate for the Cabinet of Prime Minister Taro Aso has plunged further
to 18.1 percent, down 1.1 percentage points from a survey last month, according
to the results of the latest Kyodo News survey released Monday.
The outcome of the telephone survey conducted Saturday and Sunday raises the
possibility that Aso will have an even tougher time running the government.
The disapproval rate for the Cabinet of Aso, who took office last September,
was 70.9 percent, up 0.7 point.
A majority of 77.0 percent of respondents said they do not have high
expectations of Aso's economic stimulus measures, compared with 19.4 percent
who said they do.
Among the reasons cited for not supporting the Cabinet, 28.3 percent said they
cannot expect much from Aso's economic policies and 25.8 percent said the prime
minister lacks leadership skills.
''I will accept the results of polls with sincerity,'' Aso told reporters,
while saying it is difficult for policies to be understood by the public as
some, including a cash handout plan, have not been implemented due to
opposition from the Democratic Party of Japan.
''As I'm assured that people's prime concern is economic measures, we'd like to
move forward by focusing on a single issue,'' Aso said.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura told a news conference, ''We have to
make further efforts to raise the support rate as much as possible,'' adding it
is important for the fiscal 2009 budget and legislation related to a second
extra budget for fiscal 2008 to be enacted in order to implement economic
measures.
In the survey, phone calls were made to numbers randomly selected by computer.
A total of 1,477 households containing eligible voters were called, of which
1,022 responded.
On Aso's remark last week that he is willing to review the current four-company
setup under Japan Post Holdings Co. launched in 2007 as part of Japan's postal
privatization process, 52.1 percent said they did not approve while 34.7
percent said they did.
On the prime minister's plan to raise the consumption tax from the current 5
percent in fiscal 2011 after implementing necessary measures, 68.5 percent
responded negatively, while 26.5 percent responded positively.
Of the respondents, 55.3 percent said they would prefer a government led by the
opposition DPJ, up 3.9 points from the previous poll, and 25.9 percent said
they prefer one led by the Liberal Democratic Party, down 4.6 points.
The DPJ's lead over the LDP was the largest in a Kyodo News poll since August
2005.
On who would be most suitable to be prime minister, 43.8 percent of respondents
said DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa while 23.2 percent said Aso.
Kawamura, the top government spokesman and a senior LDP lawmaker, dismissed the
idea that there could be a move within the LDP to remove Aso from the party's
presidency ahead of a general election.
''I have not heard of such voices in the current situation and everyone is
making efforts toward an election, recognizing that such a move would rock the
boat,'' Kawamura said. ''Although there may be various criticisms, it is
important just to bear with them.''
==Kyodo
2009-02-09 20:50:34