Yomiuri Shimbun January 2008 Opinion Poll

Date Conducted

January 12 and 13, 2008

Methodology

Yomiuri conducted the poll in individual interviews on January 12 and 13, 2008, using a stratified two-stage random sample of 3,000 voters in 250 different locations. 1,780 people, or 59.3% of those selected, responded.

Key Issues

• Evaluation of the Fukuda Administration/Cabinet
• Passage of the new Maritime Self Defense Forces refueling activities law
• Pride in Japan and as a Japanese citizen
• Food safety issues and food mislabeling

Disclaimer

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

 

Survey

Q1. Do you support or not support the Fukuda cabinet?

Support	45.6% (52.5)
Do not support	41.6% (35.3)
Other	3.5% (3.3)
Do not know; No answer	9.3% (9.0)

Figures in parentheses are results from polls conducted in December 2007

 

SQ1. [For those who answered “Support” to Q1]

Please select up to two reasons from the following for why you support the Fukuda Cabinet.

Positively evaluate its political stance	25.2% (25.7)
Feel that it is stable	35.4% (40.2)
Can trust the Prime Minister	24.2% (27.8)
Positively evaluate its economic policies	6.7% (5.7)
Positively evaluate its foreign policy	9.4% (8.1)
It is a coalition between the Liberal Democratic Party and the Komeito Party	8.6% (7.7)
Fukuda is an LDP Prime Minister	24.5% (18.8)
It is better than previous cabinets	13.6% (18.7)
Other; Do not know; No answer	6.8% (3.3)

Figures in parentheses are results from polls conducted in December 2007

 

SQ2. [Those who answered “Do not support” to Q1 only]

Please select up to two reasons from the following for why you do not support the Fukuda Cabinet:

Cannot positively evaluate its political stance	41.6% (38.4)
Do not feel that the cabinet is stable	27.0% (24.5)
Cannot trust the Prime Minister	25.6% (22.7)
Cannot support the administration’s economic policies	35.6% (34.6)
Cannot support the administration’s foreign policy	9.6% (11.7)
It is a coalition between the Liberal Democratic Party and the Komeito Party	12.1% (17.0)
Fukuda is an LDP Prime Minister	7.2%(8.8)
It is worse than previous cabinets	5.5% ( 5.6)
Other; Do not know; No answer	3.4% ( 4.3)

Figures in parentheses are results from polls conducted in December 2007

 

Q2. From list below, please select all applicable issues you would like the Fukuda Cabinet to prioritize and address:

Economic conditions/job security	55.4% (53.0)
Fiscal reconstruction	22.3% (20.6)
Tax reform and the issue of the consumption tax	30.7% (32.1)
Social security reform, including pensions and healthcare	62.5% (61.2)
Support for child care and countermeasures for declining birthrates	27.4% (27.1)
Education reform	18.5% (18.1)
Problems of income disparities	28.3% (25.1)
Administrative reform, such as cutting back the number of government employees	16.3% (17.4)
Politics and money issues	31.5% (35.1)
Foreign policy toward Asia, including China and South Korea	12.3% (11.2)
Issues with North Korea	19.7% (22.3)
National defense and security	10.2% (10.9)
Constitutional revision	5.3% (5.2)
Disaster prevention and crisis management	7.7% (8.2)
Public safety and crime prevention	19.4% (18.6)
Environmental protection	21.6% (20.9)
Food safety	24.8% (27.3)
Other; Nothing special; Do not know; No answer	2.8% ( 2.5)

Figures in parentheses are results from polls conducted in December 2007

 

Q3. Which political party do you support right now? Please select one:

Liberal Democratic Party	35.5% (35.3)
Democratic Party of Japan	16.9% (17.1)
Komeito Party	2.2% ( 2.5)
Japan Communist Party	2.3% ( 2.1)
Social Democratic Party of Japan	1.0% ( 0.8)
The New People’s Party	0.2%( 0.3)
The New Party Nippon	—% ( 0.1)
Other	—%( 0.2)
Do not support any party	40.7% (40.8)
Do not know; No answer	1.3% (0.7)

Figures in parentheses are results from polls conducted in December 2007

 

Q4. Do you approve of the passage of the new Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law, which restarts the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force vessels’ refueling activities in support of the multinational army fighting the war on terror in Afghanistan?

Highly approve	16.1%
Somewhat approve	31.3%
Do not really approve	26.1%
Do not approve at all	17.8%
Do not know; No answer	8.8%

 

Q5. Do you think that the passage of the new Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law via a two-thirds majority vote in the House of Representatives was appropriate or not?

Appropriate	41.4%
Not appropriate	45.7%
Do not know; No answer	12.9%

 

Q6. In the missing pension records issue, the government said it would take measures to review each of the 50 million missing records and see that the pensions were paid. However, the government has now admitted that identifying the holder of each record will be exceedingly difficult. Do you think that this is a breach of an official pledge?

Yes	54.8%
No	40.5%
Do not know; No answer	4.7%

 

Q7. In the Hepatitis C group class-action law suit, Prime Minister Fukuda pledged to provide aid to all those suffering; a bill providing the corresponding aid was passed. Do you approve of Prime Minister Fukuda’s response to this issue or not?

Highly approve	38.0%
Somewhat approve	43.5%
Do not really approve	11.8%
Do not approve at all	4.0%
Do not know; No answer	2.7%

 

Q8. Currently, by law, taxes for road construction and maintenance are tacked on to the price of gasoline. If this law expires at the end of March and the added tax is scrapped, the price of gasoline will fall, but there will be a great shortfall in both the national and regional budgets. Do you think that this law should be renewed and the additional tax should be continued, or do you think it is better to scrap the added tax?

Continue the tax	29.9%
Scrap the tax	61.1%
Do not know; No answer	9.0%

 

Q9. At the end of last year, Prime Minister Fukuda made a visit to China, which included a meeting with President Hu Jintao. Overall, do you approve of Fukuda’s visit or not?

Highly approve	23.4%
Somewhat approve	41.2%
Do not really approve	20.2%
Do not approve at all	7.1%
Do not know; No answer	8.1%

 

Q10. Prime Minister Fukuda contemplated a cabinet reshuffle in the mid-January, but ended up putting it off.  Do you think Fukuda should have reshuffled the cabinet or not?

Should have reshuffled	35.7%
Do not think he should have	49.6%
Do not know; No answer	14.7%

 

Q11. Overall, do you approve of the Democratic Party of Japan’s handling of the current session of Parliament?

Highly approve	5.7%
Somewhat approve	28.2%
Do not really approve	41.5%
Do not approve at all	17.2%
Do not know; No answer	7.3%

 

Q12. Do you think the Democratic Party of Japan has the capacity to govern or not?

Yes	29.2%
No	59.8%
Do not know; No answer	11.0%

 

Q13. When do you think the dissolution of the House of Representatives and the next general election should be held? Please select one of the following.

As soon as possible	19.6%
This spring	9.3%
After the [G8] Summit in July	22.2%
Within the year	18.0%
Anytime before the term ends in Sept. 2009	22.2%
Do not know; No answer	8.7%

 

Q14. If a House of Representatives election were to be held right now, which party would you vote for in the proportional representation section? Please select from one of the following.

Liberal Democratic Party	34.7%
Democratic Party of Japan	22.2%
Komeito Party	2.7%
Japan Communist Party	3.0%
Social Democratic Party of Japan	1.5%
The New People’s Party	0.5%
The New Party Nippon	—
Other	—
Undecided	34.4%
Do not know; No answer	0.9%

 

Q15. Are you proud or not of the fact that you are Japanese?

Very proud	54.8%
Somewhat proud	37.9%
Not proud	5.6%
Do not know; No answer	1.7%

 

Q16. As the country of Japan or as a Japanese person, what sort of things do you have pride about? Please select as many as apply from the following.

History, tradition, culture	71.6%
Land, nature	43.4%
Japanese Constitution	16.8%
Emperor system	12.0%
Economic prosperity	18.9%
Level of education, science & technology	19.3%
National character	28.0%
Stability and order in society	28.4%
Other	0.7%
Nothing in particular; Do not know; No answer	4.2%

 

Q17. Compared to the people of other countries, do you think that Japanese people are of high aptitude?

Yes	69.6% (78.6)
No	24.6% (17.0)
Do not know; No answer	5.8% ( 4.4)

Figures in parentheses are results from polls conducted in January 1986

 

Q18. If you were to be born again, would you want to be born Japanese again or not?

Yes	84.7%
No	10.3%
Do not know; No answer	5.0%

 

Q19. What kind of country do you think Japan is now? Please select as many from the following as represent your thoughts.

Military power	2.0%
Economic power	35.9%
Peaceful nation	59.7%
Cultured nation	27.2%
Welfare state	9.6%
Closed country	10.1%
Trusted country	8.4%
Democratic country	25.2%
Autonomous, independent country	4.2%
Do not know; No answer	4.8%

 

Q20. In your daily life, which of the following do you have significant interest in?  Select as many as apply.

World affairs	24.9%
Japanese affairs	39.5%
Local society	44.5%
Work	38.3%
Family/domestic affairs	47.4%
Personal affairs	28.9%
Do not know; No answer	1.3%

 

Q21. As a citizen of Japan, do you strongly desire to be of service to your country or not?

Yes	73.3%
No	20.3%
Do not know; No answer	6.5%

 

Q22. What does “to be of service to your country” mean to you concretely? Please select as many from the following as apply.

Contribute to maintaining peace and safety	44.3%
Contribute to economic development	22.4%
Contribute internationally and raise Japan’s reputation	10.3%
Make achievements in art, culture, sports	12.0%
Work as a lawmaker or government leader	1.5%
Work as a civil servant	4.0%
Work and pay taxes	34.2%
Raise children for tomorrow	48.2%
Participate in volunteer activities like disaster relief	25.6%
Do not know; No answer	7.9%

 

Q23. Do you think your love for your country is strong or weak?

Strong	29.2%
Relatively strong	41.5%
Relatively weak	18.7%
Weak	6.5%
Do not know; No answer	4.2%

 

Q24.What does “love for your country” mean to you concretely?  Please select as many from the following as resemble your interpretation.

Love for the place you live/your hometown	61.5%
Respect for tradition, culture	49.0%
Contribute to protecting peace and safety	31.0%
Contribute to national development, prosperity	20.6%
Have pride as a Japanese person	46.7%
Revere the Emperor and imperial family	11.9%
Support Japan in the Olympics, etc.	18.8%
Other	0.3%
Nothing in particular	3.7%
Do not know; No answer	1.0%

 

Q25. Hypothetically speaking, if Japan were invaded, what would you do? Please select one from the following that most closely represents your thinking.

Take up arms and resist	16.0%
Resist using non-armed methods	38.9%
Escape to a safe place	33.1%
Surrender	6.6%
Do not know; No answer	5.4%

 

Q26. What roles do you particularly expect your country to play? Please select up to three from the following.

Safeguard peace and security	76.6%
Enhance public welfare	51.7%
Promote economic development	35.3%
Create rules for economic activity	6.7%
Protect human rights	22.6%
Maintain order	34.6%
Enhance education	25.4%
Contribute to international society	8.2%
Other	0.2%
Do not know; No answer	1.3%

 

Q27.

SQ1. Which do you think is a more desirable form for the nation to take: (A) “Small government”: Reduce regulations and size of the government; while burden on citizens is lessened, citizen protections and services are kept to a minimum, or (B) “Big government”: Expand regulations and size of the government; while burden on citizen is increased, citizen protections and services are enhanced.

(A) Small government	37.8% (47.1)
(B) Big government	33.3% (28.9)
Neither	26.3% (21.2)
Do not know; No answer	2.6% ( 2.8)

Figures in parentheses are results from polls conducted in December 2000

 

SQ2. Do you think government regulations should be kept to a minimum and the private sector should be allowed to freely compete or not?

Yes	59.4%
No	30.9%
Do not know; No answer	9.7%

 

SQ3. Do you think the government should actively engage in closing the economic gap between citizens?

Yes	84.1%
No	11.9%
Do not know; No answer	4.0%

 

SQ4. Do you think the government should provide generous social security, such as pensions and welfare, and for this purpose it is permissible to increase the (tax) burden on the public?

Yes	44.8%
No	47.1%
Do not know; No answer	8.1%

 

Q28. What kind of country do you want Japan to be in the future? Please select up to three from the following.

A country that pursues economic affluence	38.9%
A country focused on promotion of science and technology	14.3%
A country focused on enhancing welfare	57.3%
A country that exercises political clout in international society	13.3%
A country that tells the world about the importance of peace	41.5%
A country focused on national security	20.0%
A country that is a model of democracy	11.5%
A country focused on promotion of culture	10.4%
A country that places importance on nature and the global environment	45.6%
Do not know; No answer	1.5%

 

Food Safety

Q29. Recently, have you been concerned or not about the safety of food?

Very concerned	48.7% (49.0)
Somewhat concerned	33.8% (34.5)
Not very concerned	13.8% (12.2)
Not concerned	3.4% ( 4.1)
Do not know; No answer	0.3% ( 0.3)

Figures in parentheses are results from polls conducted in September 2007

 

SQ. [For those who answered “Very concerned” or “Somewhat concerned” to Q29]

Please select as many from the following as apply as to why you feel concern.

Concern about pesticide residue	49.7%
Occurrence of BSE and other illnesses	32.2%
Potential use of genetically-modified products	33.0%
Concern about additives, etc.	49.5%
Increase in imported foods	57.2%
Recent spate of food mislabeling incidents	71.4%
Other	0.5%
Do not know; No answer	0.1%

 

Q30. Do you generally trust food labels or not?

Greatly trust	9.3%
Somewhat trust	40.7%
Do not really trust	34.9%
Do not trust at all	14.2%
Do not know; No answer	0.9%

 

Q31. Recently, it has come to light that several food manufacturers have shipped and sold products with falsified expiration dates. What do you think the reason is behind this intentional mislabeling? Please choose as many from the following as apply.

Low morals of management and executives	84.6%
Education of employees not sufficiently thorough	24.8%
Lack of government food oversight and inspection	49.5%
Light penalty for breaking the law	37.3%
Consumers do not pay attention to labels	17.2%
Other	1.0%
Nothing in particular	0.9%
Do not know; No answer	0.8%

 

Q32. In the food mislabeling issue, what do you find to be a particular problem?  Choose as many from the following as apply.

Expiration date, “best by” date, production date	71.8%
Place/country of production	54.4%
Ingredients	37.9%
Presence of additives	46.1%
Presence of allergens	25.3%
Organic or low-pesticide labeling	38.4%
Nutritional information	8.7%
Other	0.1%
Nothing in particular	1.8%
Do not know; No answer	0.4%

 

Q33. Do you think after the discovery of several incidents of food mislabeling will lead to a decrease in such falsifications in the future or not?

Yes	42.0%
No	54.7%
Do not know; No answer	3.3%

 

Q34. If a once-mislabeled food product were put on the market again, would you feel resistance to eating it or not?

Highly resistant	23.1%
Somewhat resistant	41.5%
Not much resistance	22.5%
No resistance at all	12.4%
Do not know; No answer	0.6%

 

Q35. With the recent mislabeling of food products, has the way you select food changed? Please select as many from the following as apply.

Instead of relying solely on labels, now decide quality of food based on look and taste	25.3%
Trust in vendors and brands lost	28.4%
Choose vendors and brands that are more trustworthy	28.1%
Choose foods whose origin and distribution channel are clear	38.0%
Pay more attention to reports on food safety	36.4%
Study about food safety now	12.0%
Think it is useless to try to control food safety	7.7%
Other	0.5%
Nothing in particular changed	22.4%
Do not know; No answer	1.5%

 

Q36. If the expiration date or the “best by” date has passed, do you often just throw the food away, or do you decide whether or not to throw it away based on its appearance and smell?

Usually throw it away	24.2%
Decide by appearance and smell, etc.	73.4%
Do not know; No answer	2.4%

 

Q37. After the BSE issue, the Japanese government limited the import of American beef to that from cattle 20 months old or younger.  The U.S. is pressing for this restriction to be lifted, and Japan is considering loosening it to cattle under 30 months of age, which is the standard in many countries. Do you support or oppose this loosening of restrictions?

Support	22.5%
Against	69.3%
Do not know; No answer	8.1%

 

Fundamental Characteristics of the Survey Sample

Regional Distribution

Hokkaido, Tohoku	11.9%
Kanto	29.4%
Chubu	19.4%
Kinki	18.1%
Chugoku, Shikoku	9.8%
Kyushu	11.5%

 

City Scale

Large metropolitan areas (Tokyo’s 23 wards and ordinance-designated cities)	22.9%
Large mid-sized cities (cities with population over 300,000)	17.4%
Mid-sized cities (cities with population over 100,000)	25.7%
Small cities (cities with population under 100,000)	22.9%
Towns and villages	11.1%

The scale is based on the established standards as of September 30, 2007

 

Gender Distribution

Male	48.7%
Female	51.3%

 

Age Distribution (in years)

20-24	3.9%
25-29	6.0%
30-34	6.5%
35-39	8.3%
40-44	8.4%
45-49	7.5%
50-54	8.9%
55-59	11.6%
60-69	23.8%
Over 70 years old	15.1%

 

Educational Background

Elementary/middle-school graduate	14.2%
High-school student or graduate	48.3%
College/junior-college student or graduate	36.2%
Do not know; No answer	1.4%

 

Occupational Background

[Self-employed]	13.3%
[Salaried worker]	42.8%
[Other]	43.9%
Agriculture/Forestry/Fishing	3.4%
Business/Industry/Service	8.2%
Freelance Professional	1.6%
Management/Professional	5.2%
Office worker/Skill industry	17.3%
Labor/Service	20.3%
Housewife	23.8%
Domestic woman other than a housewife	4.2%
Student	1.5%
Other; Unemployed; No answer	14.5%

 

Household Annual Income (in Japanese yen)

Below 2 million	11.2%
In between 2 and 4 million	23.0%
In between 4 and 6 million	23.0%
In between 6 and 8 million	14.9%
In between 8 and 10 million	6.3%
Over 10 million	5.1%
Do not know; No answer	16.5%