ID :
171118
Sun, 03/27/2011 - 17:18
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/171118
The shortlink copeid
58% do not approve of gov't handling of nuclear power plant crisis
TOKYO, March 27 Kyodo - A total of 58.2 percent of respondents do not approve of the government's handling of the nuclear crisis at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, while 39.3 percent expressed approval, according to the latest Kyodo News survey released Sunday.
On the other hand, 57.9 percent said they approve of the way the state has dealt with disaster victim support in northeastern and eastern Japan hit by the catastrophic earthquake and ensuing tsunami on March 11.
The nationwide telephone survey conducted Saturday and Sunday also found that the approval rate for Prime Minister Naoto Kan's Cabinet came to 28.3 percent, up 8.4 percentage points from the previous survey in mid-February.
A total of 67.5 percent said they support to varying extents a temporary tax rate increase to secure funds to help recovery efforts for the disaster-hit areas. The breakdown was 20.1 percent who expressed outright support and 47.4 percent who said they somewhat backed such a move.
As for the government's response to the nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture which was severely damaged by the quake and tsunami, 19.6 percent said they do not approve of it at all and 38.6 percent said they do not approve of it very much.
Only 4.9 percent expressed considerable approval and 34.4 percent said they value the government's handling of the situation to a certain extent.
In terms of the central government's relief measures for disaster victims and support for disaster-hit areas, 10.0 percent said they considerably approve of the moves and 47.9 percent said they approve to a certain extent.
In contrast, 31.9 percent said they do not value the government response very much and 7.3 percent they do not approve of it at all.
Asked about their evaluation of Kan as the country's leader, a combined 63.7 percent thought he was not exercising sufficient leadership.
On his call on main opposition Liberal Democratic Party leader Sadakazu Tanigaki to form a grand coalition government in the wake of the calamitous disaster, 45.1 percent expressed opposition and 41.8 said they were for the scheme.
On the question of how long Kan should remain as prime minister, the most popular answer, at 34.7 percent, was that he should stay put until his current term as Democratic Party of Japan president expires in September 2012.
Concerning the future of nuclear power generation in Japan, a combined 46.7 percent said atomic power plants should be abolished immediately or be reduced gradually, while 46.5 percent called either for the maintenance of the current situation or an increase in such plants.
Asked to choose up to two responses to a query on what disaster prevention measures should be reinforced, livelihood support for disaster victims was the most popular answer at 65.1 percent.
The support rate for the ruling DPJ fell to 18.9 percent from 20.9 percent in the previous survey, while that for the LDP decreased to 20.6 percent from 23.7 percent. The difference in the support rating between the two major parties shrank to 1.7 points from 2.8 points.
Among other parties, Your Party got 8.3 percent, the New Komeito party 4.1 percent, the Japanese Communist Party 3.6 percent, the Social Democratic Party 0.8 percent, the Sunrise Party of Japan 0.8 percent, the People's New Party 0.7 percent and the New Renaissance Party 0.2 percent.
The telephone survey covered 1,432 randomly selected households with eligible voters and valid responses were received from 1,011 individuals. Parts of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, which were severely hit by the disaster, were excluded from the survey.
On the other hand, 57.9 percent said they approve of the way the state has dealt with disaster victim support in northeastern and eastern Japan hit by the catastrophic earthquake and ensuing tsunami on March 11.
The nationwide telephone survey conducted Saturday and Sunday also found that the approval rate for Prime Minister Naoto Kan's Cabinet came to 28.3 percent, up 8.4 percentage points from the previous survey in mid-February.
A total of 67.5 percent said they support to varying extents a temporary tax rate increase to secure funds to help recovery efforts for the disaster-hit areas. The breakdown was 20.1 percent who expressed outright support and 47.4 percent who said they somewhat backed such a move.
As for the government's response to the nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture which was severely damaged by the quake and tsunami, 19.6 percent said they do not approve of it at all and 38.6 percent said they do not approve of it very much.
Only 4.9 percent expressed considerable approval and 34.4 percent said they value the government's handling of the situation to a certain extent.
In terms of the central government's relief measures for disaster victims and support for disaster-hit areas, 10.0 percent said they considerably approve of the moves and 47.9 percent said they approve to a certain extent.
In contrast, 31.9 percent said they do not value the government response very much and 7.3 percent they do not approve of it at all.
Asked about their evaluation of Kan as the country's leader, a combined 63.7 percent thought he was not exercising sufficient leadership.
On his call on main opposition Liberal Democratic Party leader Sadakazu Tanigaki to form a grand coalition government in the wake of the calamitous disaster, 45.1 percent expressed opposition and 41.8 said they were for the scheme.
On the question of how long Kan should remain as prime minister, the most popular answer, at 34.7 percent, was that he should stay put until his current term as Democratic Party of Japan president expires in September 2012.
Concerning the future of nuclear power generation in Japan, a combined 46.7 percent said atomic power plants should be abolished immediately or be reduced gradually, while 46.5 percent called either for the maintenance of the current situation or an increase in such plants.
Asked to choose up to two responses to a query on what disaster prevention measures should be reinforced, livelihood support for disaster victims was the most popular answer at 65.1 percent.
The support rate for the ruling DPJ fell to 18.9 percent from 20.9 percent in the previous survey, while that for the LDP decreased to 20.6 percent from 23.7 percent. The difference in the support rating between the two major parties shrank to 1.7 points from 2.8 points.
Among other parties, Your Party got 8.3 percent, the New Komeito party 4.1 percent, the Japanese Communist Party 3.6 percent, the Social Democratic Party 0.8 percent, the Sunrise Party of Japan 0.8 percent, the People's New Party 0.7 percent and the New Renaissance Party 0.2 percent.
The telephone survey covered 1,432 randomly selected households with eligible voters and valid responses were received from 1,011 individuals. Parts of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, which were severely hit by the disaster, were excluded from the survey.
