December 2005 Nikkei Regular Telephone Opinion Poll
Dates Conducted
December 23-25, 2005
Released
December 27, 2005
Copyright 2005 Nikkei Shimbun
Methodology
The Nikkei Shimbun regularly conducts public opinion polls on attitudes
toward the government and domestic policy issues. The telephone
poll surveyed 904 males and females over the age of 20 throughout
Japan.
Key Issues
•
Support for Prime Minister Koizumi
•
Post-Koizumi leadership
•
Feelings of trust toward the United States, China, South Korea and
Russia
•
Support for Self-Defense Forces in Iraq
Background
This survey was conducted amid heightened domestic political maneuvering
in Tokyo, as rival politicians positioned themselves to succeed
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at the end of his term. Koizumi
encouraged this competition, in part, by filling his fifth Cabinet
with several potential contenders for the premiership. In mid-December,
Koizumi openly encouraged Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe
to run for prime minister, ending speculation about his most
likely
successor. News in Japan at this time also focused on the ongoing
construction scandal. In November, reports surfaced that an architect
had falsified data on numerous high-rise buildings throughout
Japan that proved to be below current standards of earthquake
resistance.
The scandal raised anxiety about public safety in the earthquake-prone
nation and the government’s role in enforcing building standards.
The poll also looks at Japanese levels of trust toward neighboring
nations, as historical disagreements and other strains in Japan’s
diplomatic relations with mainland Asia continued to flare up.
The Mansfield Foundation is responsible for the translation of
this Nikkei Shimbun poll, subject to the Mansfield Foundation Terms
of Use.
Survey
Q1. Do you support the Koizumi Cabinet or not? (N=904)
Support
59%
Don't support
34%
Can't say/don't know
7%
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=529)
Because it is an LDP cabinet
15%
Good policies
14%
Good sense of international affairs
10%
Leadership
53%
Stability
14%
Can trust members' personalities
24%
Clean
14%
Others
5%
Can't say/don't know
5%
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=310)
Because it is an LDP cabinet
23%
Bad policies
42%
Bad sense of international affairs
36%
Lack of leadership
12%
Instability
20%
Cannot trust members' personalities
28%
Not clean
3%
Others
5%
Can't say/don't know
5%
Q2. What political party do you currently support? Please choose
only one. (N=904)
Liberal Democratic Party
37%
Democratic Party of Japan
15%
New Komeito
3%
Japanese Communist Party
3%
Social Democratic Party
1%
The People's New Party
0%
New Party Nippon
0%
Others
0%
Don't support any party
37%
Can't say/don't know
3%
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=363)
Liberal Democratic Party
18%
Democratic Party of Japan
16%
New Komeito
3%
Japanese Communist Party
5%
Social Democratic Party
2%
The People's New Party
0%
New Party Nippon
0%
Others
1%
Don't support any party
44%
Can't say/don't know
12%
[Support + preferable parties (N=904)]
Liberal Democratic Party
44%
Democratic Party of Japan
22%
New Komeito
4%
Japanese Communist Party
5%
Social Democratic Party
2%
The People's New Party
0%
New Party Nippon
0%
Others
0%
Don't support any party
18%
Can't say/don't know
5%
Q3. What policy issues do you want the Koizumi Cabinet to prioritize?
Please choose as many as apply from the following 14 answers. (N=904)
Economy
29%
Fiscal reform
20%
Tax reform
25%
Administrative reform/deregulation
6%
Diplomacy/national security issues
20%
Social security issues including pension and welfare
55%
Employment
22%
Education
23%
Reforms in political system
10%
So called "Sanmi ittai" or triple reform of central and local
government taxing systems
15%
Local economy revitalization
16%
Constitutional issues
9%
Environmental issues
14%
Safety/crime control
22%
Others
1%
Can't say/don't know
11%
Q4. What do you think will happen to the Japanese economy next year?
Please choose one of the following three answers. (N=904)
Will improve
20%
Will not change so much
61%
Will deteriorate
10%
Can't say/don't know
10%
Q5. How do you evaluate the reforms on which Prime Minister Koizumi
worked this year, including the postal privatization, consolidation
of government-run financial institutions, and personnel cost reduction
in the central bureaucracy? Please choose one of the following
four answers. (N=904)
Highly approve
12%
Approve to some extent
55%
Hardly approve
18%
Do not approve at all
4%
Can't say/don't know
11%
Q6. The discussion about raising the consumption tax rate is becoming
vigorous within the government and ruling parties. What do you
think about the relationship between social security and the tax
burden? (N=904)
Raising the tax rate is inevitable to maintain the level of
social security
33%
Should cut social security to some extent and restrain the
tax increase
34%
Should avoid the tax increase even if social security is drastically
cut
14%
Can't say/don't know
19%
Q7. Prime Minister Koizumi’s tenure as LDP president will end
next September. Who do you think is appropriate as the next prime
minister? Please choose only one of the following. (N=904)
Taro Aso
3%
Shinzo Abe
43%
Heizo Takenaka
5%
Sadakazu Tanigaki
1%
Yasuo Fukuda
7%
Ichiro Ozawa
5%
Naoto Kan
3%
Seiji Maehara
3%
Others
3%
Can't say/don't know
26%
Q8. Prime Minister Koizumi has suggested the possibility of cooperation
with the Democratic Party of Japan in the context of Constitutional
revision, and so forth. What framework of administration do you
think would be desirable? Please choose one from the following
five answers. (N=904)
Continuation of LDP-Komeito coalition administration
25%
LDP single-party administration
14%
LDP-DPJ large coalition administration
24%
DPJ single-party administration
6%
Non-LDP coalition administration centered around DPJ
10%
Others
2%
Can't say/don't know
19%
Q9. The Japanese government extended the period of the Self-Defense
Force dispatch to Iraq for reconstruction operations by one year
(to the end of December 2006). What do you think about the timing
of the withdrawal? Please choose one of the following three answers.
(N=904)
Should withdraw immediately
28%
Should withdraw during the first half of 2006 along with British
troops and others
46%
Should continue activities until the U.S.withdraws its troops
11%
Can't say/don't know
14%
Q10 A. About the United States, please choose between “Can
trust” and “Cannot trust.” (N=904)
Can trust
48%
Cannot trust
35%
Can't say/don't know
16%
Q10 B. About China, please choose between “Can trust” and “Cannot
trust.” (N=904)
Can trust
14%
Cannot trust
69%
Can't say/don't know
17%
Q10 C. About South Korea, please choose between “Can trust” and “Cannot
trust.” (N=904)
Can trust
33%
Cannot trust
50%
Can't say/don't know
17%
Q10 D. About Russia, please choose between “Can trust” and “Cannot
trust.” (N=904)
Can trust
17%
Cannot trust
61%
Can't say/don't know
21%
Q11. The scandal involving falsified data on earthquake-resistant
buildings is becoming a serious social issue. What do you think
would be most effective in preventing this problem in the future?
Please choose one from the following three answers. (N=904)
Toughen penalties against architects and real estate businesses
that do not follow building codes
21%
Strengthen the governmental supervision on private architecture
inspection entities
32%
Architecture approval should be handled entirely by public
entities
32%
Can't say/don't know
16%
F1. Gender (judged by interviewers, N=904)
Male
43%
Female
57%
Unknown
0%
F2. Age (N=904, Average: 51.6)
20s
8%
30s
18%
40s
19%
50s
21%
60s
15%
Over 70
16%
Refuse to answer
2%
F3. What is your occupation? Please choose one from the following.
(N=904)
