Cabinet support rate up slightly

The Group of Eight summit in Hokkaido did little to improve the image of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, as his Cabinet's support rate remained in critical territory, an Asahi Shimbun survey showed Tuesday.

The rate stood at 24 percent in the survey conducted over the weekend, up 1 percentage point from the previous survey on June 14 and 15.

The Fukuda administration's support rate has remained below 30 percent--a level considered critical among political circles--since April.

In the latest survey, the results of which were released Tuesday, the Cabinet's disapproval rate shed 1 percentage point from the previous survey but was still high at 58 percent.

The Asahi Shimbun conducted the survey Saturday through Sunday, after Fukuda chaired the G-8 summit at Lake Toyako, Hokkaido, from July 7 to 9. A total of 1,975 people, or 57 percent of those contacted by telephone, provided valid responses.

Sixty percent of the respondents said Fukuda failed to exert leadership at the summit, compared with 24 percent who said he did.

The G-8 countries called on all signatories to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change to share in the burden of halving global emissions by 2050. In the Major Economies Meeting, the 16 member nations agreed to share a common objective, but they refused to specify a target.

Only 32 percent of survey respondents rated the results of the G-8 meetings highly, compared with 53 percent who did not.

Emerging powers, such as China and India, insist that developed countries are responsible for global warming, and they should be the ones to first drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Thirty-seven percent of respondents said they sympathize with this argument, while 50 percent replied that they do not.

Concerning domestic issues, 44 percent of respondents said it is necessary to raise the consumption tax rate, while 47 percent said there is no need.

Asked when he planned to raise the consumption tax rate, Fukuda has said: "It is now an important time for me to make that determination." But he later said, "I'm thinking about the issue from a long-term perspective, such as two or three years later."

Sixty-five percent of respondents criticized Fukuda's wavering stance, compared with 24 percent who said they can accept such an explanation.

The survey also showed 71 percent opposed the U.S. decision to remove North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, while 17 percent backed the measure.

Fifty-one percent said the move would have a negative effect on efforts to resolve the issue of Japanese abducted by North Korea. Thirty percent replied there will be no effect and 4 percent said the move would have a positive effect on the abduction issue.

The survey showed the support rate for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party was 26 percent, up 4 percentage points from the previous survey.

The opposition Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) support rate also rose to 24 percent from 22 percent. It is the first time since April the support rate for the LDP exceeded that for Minshuto.(IHT/Asahi: July 16,2008)