The approval rating for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet rose to 53 percent from 49 percent in the previous poll conducted in October, while its disapproval rating fell to 36 percent from 41 percent, according to a recent nationwide survey conducted from Friday through Sunday by The Yomiuri Shimbun.
Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a summit meeting earlier this month and agreed to speed up negotiations on a peace treaty based on the 1956 Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration that stipulates the return of two of the four northern territories islands in Hokkaido to Japan, namely the Habomai group of islets and Shikotan Island, after the conclusion of a peace treaty. Sixty-four percent of respondents favorably evaluated the agreement.
Sixty-two percent said they did not think the northern territories issue would be resolved in the near future, compared to 73 percent who said so in an opinion poll conducted on Dec. 28 and 29, 2016, just after Putin's visit to Japan.
As for the Japanese government's stance on the negotiations with Russia for the return of the northern territories, 58 percent said the government should prioritize the realization of the return of the two islands and then continue to negotiate with Russia over the return of the remaining islands.
Meanwhile, 25 percent said the government should aim to achieve the return of all four islands at the same time, while 11 percent said the northern territories issue should be considered settled with the return of two islands. The survey indicates that many people call for achieving the return of the Habomai group of islets and Shikotan Island first and then continuing to negotiate on the return of the other two islands -- Etorofu and Kunashiri.
When asked about the government's policy of accepting more foreign workers, 48 percent said they supported the policy, while 42 percent expressed opposition.
As for a bill to expand the acceptance of foreign workers, 73 percent said they thought there would be no need to pass the bill in the current Diet session but that it should be carefully discussed, while 14 percent said the bill should be scrapped. Nine percent said the bill should be enacted in the current Diet session.
As for political party support, 41 percent selected the Liberal Democratic Party, up from 37 percent in the October survey, followed by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan with 7 percent, up from 5 percent. Forty-two percent said they do not support any party, down from 46 percent.
The survey was conducted by calling 920 households on landline phones and 1,172 mobile phone users who were sampled through the random digit dialing method. All respondents were eligible voters aged 18 or older. Of them, 1,052 people -- 535 on landlines and 517 on mobile phones, gave valid answers.
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