(CPOD) May 25, 2004 - Many Japanese adults are satisfied with the latest diplomatic efforts by Junichiro Koizumi, according to a poll by Mainichi. 60 per cent of respondents approve of the prime minister's recent visit to North Korea.

On May 22, Koizumi traveled to Pyongyang to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. The prime minister discussed the communist nation's nuclear weapons program, and returned to Japan with five of the eight known relatives of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea in the 1980s.

On May 23, Katsuya Okada of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) deemed Koizumi's visit a "failure," and said that the meeting between the two world leaders appeared to be "just a ceremony."

Koizumi has been in office since April 2001, and earned a new four-year mandate in last November's 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.

On Jul. 11, Japanese voters will elect 121 lawmakers to the House of Councillors. Setbacks in Japan's upper house elections have meant the end of tenures for several prime ministers.

Polling Data

Do you approve or disapprove of Junichiro Koizumi's visit to North Korea?

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