TOKYO (MNI) – The public approval rating for the cabinet of Prime
Minister Yoshihiko Noda rose slightly as former leader of the ruling
Democratic Party of Japan Ichiro Ozawa’s revolt against a sales tax hike
failed to win public support, according to a weekend media poll.
The approval rating for the Noda cabinet rose five percentage
points to 33% in a survey conducted between Friday and Sunday by Nikkei
Inc and TV Tokyo Corp from the previous month.
The disapproval rating fell three points to 57%.
Meantime, the survey showed that only 38% of respondents support
Ozawa and his anti-tax-hike rebels.
But the survey also found that 52% disapproved of a three-party
agreement between the DPJ and two main opposition parties — the Liberal
Democratic Party and the New Komeito — to lift the current 5%
consumption tax rate to 8% in April 2014 and to 10% in October 2015.
Despite the rebound in the approval rating, Noda and top officials
at the DPJ are reported to be making last-minute efforts to dissuade
rebels in the ruling party from voting against tax and social security
reform bills.
More than 60 DPJ members are likely to oppose to the tax and social
security legislation and more than 50 may break away after the vote and
form a new party, which would likely be led by Ozawa, the Nikkei said.
The lower house of parliament is scheduled to vote on the bills on
Tuesday.
The latest rise in the public approval rating also came after Noda
made a minor reshuffling of his cabinet, as 54% of the respondents
supported the naming of university professor Satoshi Morimoto as defense
minister.
However, the survey also found that 46% was opposed to the recent
decision to restart two reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co’s Oi
nuclear power plant in western Japan.
tokyo@marketnews.com
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