Japanese prime minister faces sharp fall in opinion polls

A poll in the Asahi Shimbun showed Abe suffered a 10 percent fall in support during November. The downward trend was particularly sharp among people in their 20s—dropping from 53 percent in early November to 42 percent.

Another major Japanese newspaper, Mainichi Daily, said Abe’s approval rating had plummetted by 14 points, from 67 percent in September when he took office. Those who still supported Abe preferred his “youthfulness and fresh image”. Those who disapproved, expressed their opposition to various government policies.

According to the Mainichi poll, one concern was the government’s failure to respond quickly to a series of highly publicised suicides of students subjected to school bullying. The most controversial issue, however, was Abe’s decision to readmit 11 “postal rebels” into the LDP. Koizumi expelled the MPs last year and called a snap national election after they opposed his planned postal privatisation—the lynchpin of the government’s economic deregulation.

Other polls by the Kyodo news agency and the corporate daily Nihon Keizai confirmed these findings. Both found a large slide in support for Abe and identified the readmission of the “postal rebels” as the key issue. The Kyodo poll showed the largest fall—from 65 percent in November to 48.6 percent early his month. Some 68 percent of respondents opposed his decision on the “rebels”.

In fact, Abe did not make the decision to readmit them. He simply endorsed the proposal by LDP Secretary-General Hidenao Nakagawa, who was concerned that the LDP could lose control of the parliamentary upper house in elections next year. The “rebels” were likely to hold their seats, meaning any further losses could end the narrow majority held by the LDP and its coalition partner New Komeito.

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http://wsws.org/articles/2006/dec2006/japa-d13.shtml