(Angus Reid Consultants – CPOD Global Scan) – The government of prime minister Junichiro Koizumi is losing public support in Japan, according to a poll by Yomiuri. 45 per cent of respondents approve of the cabinet’s performance, a five per cent drop in a month.
(Angus Reid Consultants – CPOD Global Scan) – The government of prime minister Junichiro Koizumi is losing public support in Japan, according to a poll by Yomiuri. 45 per cent of respondents approve of the cabinet’s performance, a five per cent drop in a month.
Koizumi earned a new four-year mandate in the November 2003 parliamentary election. The prime minister leads a coalition encompassing his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the New Komeito Clean Government Party (Kt) and the New Conservative Party (CP), with 279 lawmakers in the 480-seat House of Representatives.
Questions about possible sanctions against North Korea have dominated Japanese media reports in the past few days. According to the Japanese government, North Korea kidnapped 15 Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s, and allegedly employed them as language and customs trainers for spies. In 2002, North Korea admitted to abducting 13 Japanese citizens.
In November, North Korea handed over human remains to Japan, saying they belonged to Megumi Yokota, a Japanese woman kidnapped in 1977 who—according to Pyongyang—committed suicide in 1994. Earlier this month, DNA tests showed that the remains did not in fact belong to Yokota. Cabinet secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said the controversy was a “major obstacle” to bilateral ties.
Polling Data
Do you approve or disapprove of Junichiro Koizumi’s cabinet?
Dec. 2004 | Nov. 2004 | |
Approve | 45% | 50% |
Disapprove | 43% | 39% |
Source: Yomiuri
Methodology: Interviews to 1,817 Japanese adults, conducted on Dec. 11 and Dec. 12, 2004. No margin of error was provided.
