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OPINION POLL (P05-11)

August 2005 Nikkei Special Telephone Opinion Poll on “Manifesto”

Dates Conducted

August 20-22, 2005

Released

August 23, 2005

Methodology

The Nikkei Shimbun regularly conducts public opinion polls on attitudes toward the government and domestic policy issues. The telephone poll surveyed 988 males and females over the age of 20 throughout Japan.

Key Issues

• Support for Prime Minister Koizumi
• Policy platform set for the upcoming Lower House elections

Link to Original Source

http://www.nikkei-r.co.jp/nikkeipoll/results.html

Disclaimer

The Mansfield Foundation is responsible for the translation of this Nikkei Shimbun poll, subject to the Mansfield Foundation Terms of Use.

Q1. Do you support the Koizumi cabinet or not? (N=988)

Support	49%
Don't support	39%
Can't say/don't know	12%

Q1SQ1. For those who answered “support” in Q1, what is the reason for your support? Please choose as many as apply from the following seven answers. (N=488)

Because it is an LDP cabinet	17%
Good policies	23%
Good sense in international affairs	14%
Leadership	45%
Stability	13%
Can trust personality	20%
Clean	13%
Others	7%
Can't say/don't know	4%

Q1SQ2. For those who answered “don’t support” in Q1, what is the reason for your non-support? Please choose as many as apply from the following seven answers. (N=381)

Because it is an LDP cabinet	17%
Bad policies	40%
Bad sense in international affairs	17%
Lack of leadership	15%
Instability	19%
Cannot trust personality	32%
Not clean	6%
Others	6%
Can't say/don't know	5%

Q2. Which political party do you currently support? Please choose only one. (N=988)

Liberal Democratic Party	38%
Democratic Party of Japan	13%
New Komeito	3%
Japanese Communist Party	2%
Social Democratic Party	2%
The People's New Party	1%
Others	0%
Don't support any party	35%
Can't say/don't know	5%

Q2SQ. For those who answered “don’t support any party” or “can’t say/don’t know” in Q2, if you have to choose one party, which party do you feel is most preferable? Please choose only one. (N=399)

Liberal Democratic Party	18%
Democratic Party of Japan	15%
New Komeito	2%
Japanese Communist Party	2%
Social Democratic Party	3%
The People's New Party	1%
Others	1%
Don't support any party	43%
Can't say/don't know	14%

[Support + preferable parties (N=988)]

Liberal Democratic Party	46%
Democratic Party of Japan	19%
New Komeito	4%
Japanese Communist Party	3%
Social Democratic Party	3%
The People's New Party	1%
Others	1%
Don't support any party	17%
Can't say/don't know	6%

Q3. What policy issues are important for you in the upcoming elections? Please choose as many as apply from the following fifteen answers. (N=988)

Economy	29%
Fiscal reform	23%
Tax reform	26%
Administrative reform/deregulation	10%
Diplomacy/national security issues	16%
Social security issues including pension and welfare	57%
Employment	19%
Education	19%
Reforms in political systems	15%
Postal privatization	29%
So called "Sanmiittai" or triple reform of central and local governments taxing systems	15%
Local economy revitalization	14%
Constitutional issues	9%
Environmental issues	18%
Safety/crime control	15%
Others	1%
Can't say/don't know	11%

Q4. In the upcoming Lower House elections, which of the following four answers do you weigh the most for voting? Please choose only one. (N=988)

Candidates' personalities	19%
Candidates' policies	39%
Attractiveness of party heads	9%
Party platforms ("manifesto")	20%
Can't say/don't know	13%

Q5. Which political party are you going to vote for in the upcoming Lower House elections? Please choose only one. (N=988)

Liberal Democratic Party	37%
Democratic Party of Japan	16%
New Komeito	3%
Japanese Communist Party	2%
Social Democratic Party	2%
The People's New Party	1%
Others	1%
Don't know/can't say	38%

Q6. Prime Minister Koizumi is not going to give the party’s official endorsement to those LDP Lower House Members who voted against the Postal Privatization Bill at the last Diet session, and is moving forward to field rival candidates to their constituencies. What do you think about this? Please choose one from the following two answers. (N=998)

Support the Prime Minister	40%
Fielding rival candidates is excessive	45%
Don't know/can't say	15%

Q7. Regarding the postal reforms, which of the following three positions do you support? Please choose only one. (N=988)

Prime Minister Koizumi's postal privatization plan	44%
DPJ's plan to downsize the postal savings and postal insurances while maintaining the Japan Post as a public entity	22%
Maintaining the Japan Post as it is	18%
Others	0%
Don't know/can't say	16%

Q8. Fiscal reform is also a big issue in the upcoming Lower House elections. What do you think about raising the consumption tax rate? Please choose one from the following four answers. (N=988)

Acceptable under the current fiscal conditions	16%
Acceptable if the raised portion is spent for limited projects such as the government pension plans, etc.	29%
Should maintain the current rate	33%
Should abolish the consumption tax	9%
Others	1%
Don't know/can't say	11%

Q9. Each party touches upon a variety of foreign policy issues in their party platforms. Which area in foreign policy do you think should be prioritized? Please choose as many as apply from the following seven answers. (N=988)

Further strengthening Japan-U.S. alliance	14%
Improving the relationships with neighboring countries such as China, South Korea, etc.	50%
Gaining the permanent membership at the UN Security Council	13%
Solving the northern territorial issue	16%
Solving North Korea's nuclear development and abductee issues	55%
Early withdrawal of the Self-Defense Forces from Iraq	27%
Involvement in global environmental issues	38%
Others	0%
Don't know/can't say	13%

F1. Gender (judged by interviewers, N=988)

Male	44%
Female	56%
Unknown	0%

F2. Age (N=988)

20s	9%
30s	16%
40s	18%
50s	20%
60s	18%
Over 70	17%
Refuse to answer	2%

F3. What is your occupation? Please choose one from the following. (N=988)

Agriculture, forestry, fishery	3%
Employed (corporate employee, bureaucrat, teacher, etc.)	46%
Self-employed (business, engineer), freelance (including family business)	10%
House wife (without any outside job)	21%
Student	1%
Unemployed	16%
Refuse to answer	2%