05/04 Survey: 64% support grand coalition

The Yomiuri Shimbun

A hefty 64 percent of people surveyed in the latest Yomiuri Shimbun poll would support the Democratic Party of Japan and the Liberal Democratic Party forming a grand coalition to benefit disaster recovery and relief and manage the nuclear crisis.

The telephone poll, conducted Friday through Sunday, also found 61 percent of respondents are dissatisfied with the government's performance in handling the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

Asked until when they would like Prime Minister Naoto Kan to hold his post, 31 percent answered "until the current Diet session ends in summer," while 19 percent said they would like him to step down "soon."

These results show 50 percent of people surveyed think Kan should be finished as prime minister by around the time the current Diet session ends June 22.

Of the other two possible answers to the question, 23 percent chose "until autumn next year, when his term as president of the DPJ expires," and 16 percent picked "until summer 2013, when his term as a House of Representatives member ends."

Asked whether they agreed the DPJ should scrap policies stipulated in its 2009 general election manifesto, such as the child-rearing allowances, to help finance recovery and relief measures in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami, 83 percent said "Yes," while only 13 percent chose "No."

Also regarding financing recovery programs, 60 percent agreed taxes should be increased, while 32 percent disagreed.

To the question, "What should be done about the number of nuclear power stations in Japan?" 46 percent said the current number should be maintained. Twenty-nine percent said it should be decreased, while 12 percent said all the nuclear power plants should be abandoned. Ten percent said the number should be increased.

The survey results show that the dominant opinion favors the nation's political forces combining in a grand coalition to give powerful support to recovery efforts, with financial resources to be secured by means including tax increases.

The approval rate of the Kan Cabinet was 31 percent, recovering slightly from 24 percent in the previous survey taken March 4 to 6. The rebound could be attributed to the Cabinet's efforts for recovery and relief programs and nuclear crisis control.

However, the Cabinet's disapproval rate was still high at 56 percent, down from 67 percent in March.

As for party approval rates, the DPJ's was 20 percent, up from 18 percent, and the LDP's was 20 percent, up from 19 percent. Forty-nine percent of respondents supported no specific party, down from 52 percent.

Only about one quarter of people surveyed, 24 percent, said Kan had displayed leadership in the recovery efforts and measures to control the Fukushima Prefecture plant crisis, while 69 percent said he had not.

On the government's handling of the nuclear crisis, 61 percent said they did not admire the government's attempts to bring the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 plant under control, while 27 percent praised the government's performance.

The nationwide survey excluded some areas in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures that were severely hit by the massive earthquake and tsunami.

The random digit dialing (RDD) format survey used 4,500 computer-generated telephone numbers, which returned 1,666 households with at least one eligible voter. One voter from each of those households agreed to take part in the survey. Of the 1,666 respondents, 1,036, or 62 percent, gave valid answers.

(Apr. 5, 2011)