Poll: Support for Japan PM falls to 46 percent

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(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-10-13 15:08

TOKYO -- Tepid public support for Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso has fallen further in the weeks since he took office and voters now want help for the country's economy to take priority over domestic politics, according to a poll published Monday.

Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso delivers his first keynote speech since taking office, during a plenary session at the Lower House of Parliament in Tokyo September 29, 2008. [Agencies]

Support for Aso's administration has fallen to 46 percent, down almost 4 percentage points from a survey taken just after he took power and picked his Cabinet three weeks ago, reported the Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's largest newspaper by subscribers.

It also showed that 70 percent of voters feel a stimulus package for Japan's lagging economy should take priority over parliamentary elections. Earlier polls had shown broad support for quick elections.

Aso can call snap elections anytime until next September, and just after he was elected there was heavy speculation that he would do so quickly, with many politicians beginning campaign preparations. But his low initial popularity, coupled with the growing economic crisis, may cause him to hold off.

The results indicate concern about the effects of the global financial crisis on Japan is growing among voters. On Friday the stock market plunged nearly 10 percent to cap its worst week ever.

The Yomiuri survey was a nationwide random telephone poll of 1,056 eligible voters. The newspaper provided no margin of error, but a survey of that size would generally have a margin of plus or minus three percentage points.