The approval rating for the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe rose to 42 percent, up three percentage points from 39 percent in the previous survey, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun survey conducted from Friday through Sunday.
In the previous nationwide opinion poll conducted April 20-22, the Cabinet support rate fell for the third consecutive survey.
In the latest survey, the disapproval rating for the Cabinet dropped to 47 percent, down six percentage points from the previous survey. However, the disapproval rating remained above the approval rating for the third consecutive poll since the one conducted March 31 through April 1.
Among nonaffiliated voters who do not support any particular party, the Cabinet's approval rating was 17 percent in the survey, unchanged from the previous survey. The disapproval rating remained high at 68 percent, though it was down from 73 percent.
While 66 percent of respondents said they expected the summit meeting between the United States and North Korea scheduled for June would lead to resolving issues related to the North's nuclear and missile development programs, 29 percent said they did not expect it would.
Regarding the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea, 60 percent said they expected the summit meeting would lead to a resolution of the issue, while 37 said they did not.
When asked which of the two options -- dialogue or pressure -- should be emphasized by the international community to solve North Korea's missile and nuclear development issues, 48 percent of respondents were in favor of having dialogue, and 41 percent opted for putting pressure on Pyongyang.
Although a simple comparison is not accurate because of differences in the wording of part of the questions, 46 percent picked dialogue and 45 percent opted for pressure in the previous survey conducted from April 20-22.
When it comes to Abe's diplomatic moves regarding recent meetings with the United States, China and South Korea to deal with North Korean issues, 63 percent of respondents evaluated it favorably, while 28 percent did not.
Looking at respondents by the political party they support, those who support Abe's diplomacy accounted for 80 percent of Liberal Democratic Party supporters, 53 percent among nonaffiliated voters, and less than 40 percent of those who support the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.
Regarding a possible summit meeting between Japan and North Korea, 41 percent said the meeting "should be held as soon as possible," up from 33 percent in the March 31-April 1 survey. Still, the figure is below the rate of who said the government should carefully consider the issue at 55 percent, though it is down from 62 percent in the March 31-April 1 survey.
When asked who should be the next LDP president, LDP Chief Deputy Secretary General Shinjiro Koizumi ranked highest at 32 percent, followed by Abe and former LDP Secretary General Shigeru Ishiba at 23 percent each.
By party, the approval rating for the LDP was 37 percent, unchanged from the previous survey, while that of the CDPJ was 7 percent, down from 10 percent. Only 2 percent of respondents said they support the Democratic Party for the People, which was inaugurated this month. Forty-two percent said they did not support any particular party, up from 40 percent in the previous survey.
The survey was conducted on 919 households with fixed line phones and 1,184 mobile phone users with eligible voters aged 18 or older, using a random digit dialing method. Of them, 1,120 gave valid answers, with 562 on fixed lines and 558 people on mobile phones.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
