Around the World: Japan

PM support reaches 30%

Support for Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso rose to 30 percent in an opinion poll released yesterday, a level political analysts have said was the minimum needed for the leader to call a snap election.

Some lawmakers in Aso's long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party are urging him to call an election in May or June to take advantage of his improved popularity and a funding scandal plaguing his main opposition rival, but others remain cautious about rushing to call a vote that must be held by October.

The poll by NHK public TV, which showed Aso's support rate had risen 12 points from last month, follows Pyongyang's launch of a rocket over Japan, seen by Tokyo as a thinly disguised missile test, and the government's unveiling of a record 15 trillion yen ($154 billion ) stimulus package for the recession-hit economy.

Whale hunt misses target

Japan's whaling catch in its latest Antarctic hunt fell far short of its target after disruptions by anti-whaling activists, the Fisheries Agency said yesterday.

Japan, which considers whaling to be a cherished cultural tradition, killed 679 minke whales despite plans to catch around 850. It caught just one fin whale compared with a target of 50 in the hunt that began in November.

Some ships in its six-ship fleet have returned home after clashes with the hardline group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, including a collision that crushed a railing on one of the Japanese ships.

(China Daily 04/14/2009 page11)