Nikkei Shimbun May 2009 Emergency Telephone Opinion Poll
Dates Conducted
May 16 and 17, 2009
Methodology
Nationwide poll. See below for age and gender breakdown.
Key Issues
- Support for the Aso Cabinet
- Resignation of Mr. Ozawa as DPJ President and the selection of Mr. Hatoyama as his successor
- House of Representatives general election
Disclaimer
The Mansfield Foundation is responsible for the translation of this Nikkei Shimbun poll, subject to the Mansfield Foundation Terms of Use.
Survey
*All numbers are percentages
*Numbers in parentheses are the total number of respondents
Q1. Do you support or not support the Aso Cabinet? (N=880)
| Support | 26 |
| Do not support | 58 |
| Cannot say/Do not know | 16 |
SQ1. [For those who answered “Cannot say”/“Do not know”] Which of the following is closest to your feelings? (N=144)
| Support | 28 |
| Do not support | 27 |
| Cannot say/Do not know | 46 |
[Total (combined) approval rating (N=880)]
| Support | 30 |
| Do not support | 62 |
| Cannot say/Do not know | 8 |
SQ2. [For those who answered “Support”] What are the reasons you support the cabinet? Please choose all that apply from the following seven answers: (N=265)
| Because it is an LDPcabinet | 46 |
| Because it has good policies | 13 |
| Because it is internationally minded | 23 |
| Because it has good leadership | 7 |
| Because it is stable | 9 |
| Because of the trustworthy character of its members | 16 |
| Because it is politically clean | 6 |
| Other | 7 |
| Cannot say/Do not know | 7 |
SQ3. [For those who answered “Do not support”] What are the reasons you do not support the cabinet? Please choose all that apply from the following seven answers: (N=548)
| Because it is an LDP cabinet | 25 |
| Because its policies are bad | 45 |
| Because it is not internationally minded | 14 |
| Because of its lack of leadership | 44 |
| Because it is not stable | 43 |
| Because its members are not trustworthy | 28 |
| Because it is not clean politically | 7 |
| Other | 3 |
| Cannot say/Do not know | 4 |
Q2. Which political party do you currently support? Please choose only one. (N=880)
| Mr.Aso | 29% |
| Mr.Hatoyama | 40% |
SQ1. [For those who answered “Do not support any party” or “Cannot say/Do not know”] If you had to name one, which political party do you favor? (N=336)
| Liberal Democratic Party | 13 |
| Democratic Party ofJapan | 29 |
| NewKomeito | 1 |
| JapanCommunist Party | 3 |
| Social Democratic Party | 1 |
| The People’s New Party | 0 |
| KaikakuClub (Reform Club) | 0 |
| The New Party ofJapan | 0 |
| Other political party | 0 |
| Do not favor any political party | 41 |
| Cannot say/Do not know | 11 |
[Support + Preferred Parties (N=880)]
| Liberal Democratic Party | 33 |
| Democratic Party ofJapan | 38 |
| NewKomeito | 4 |
| JapanCommunist Party | 3 |
| Social Democratic Party | 1 |
| The People’s New Party | 0 |
| KaikakuClub (Reform Club) | 0 |
| The New Party ofJapan | 0 |
| Other political party | 0 |
| Do not favor any political party | 16 |
| Cannot say/Do not know | 4 |
Q3. Democratic Party of Japan’s Ichiro Ozawa has resigned and has been replaced by Yukio Hatoyama as the new leader of the party. Do you find Mr. Hatoyama promising or not promising? (N=880)
| Promising | 44 |
| Not promising | 47 |
| Cannot say/Do not know | 9 |
SQ1. [For those who answered “Cannot say/Do not know”] Which of the following is closest to your feelings? (N=75)
| Promising | 30 |
| Not promising | 17 |
| Cannot say/Do not know | 53 |
[Q3+ SQ1 Total (N=880)]
| Promising | 47 |
| Not promising | 49 |
| Cannot say/Do not know | 4 |
SQ2. [For those who answered “Promising”] What is the biggest reason for this? Please choose one from the following seven answers: (N=412)
| Because he is the Democratic Party of Japan’s representative | 31 |
| Because he has good policies | 20 |
| Because he is internationally minded | 6 |
| Because he has good leadership | 18 |
| Because he is stable | 14 |
| Because he has a trustworthy character | 28 |
| Because he is politically clean | 21 |
| Other | 8 |
| Cannot say/Do not know | 6 |
SQ3. [For those who answered “Not promising”] What is the biggest reason for this? Please choose one from the following seven answers (N=428)
| Because he is the Democratic Party of Japan’s representative | 16 |
| Because he has bad policies | 17 |
| Because he is not internationally minded | 9 |
| Because his lack of leadership | 33 |
| Because he is not stable | 29 |
| Because he is not trustworthy | 23 |
| Because he is not clean politically | 5 |
| Other | 10 |
| Cannot say/Do not know | 7 |
Q4. Who do you think is suitable to serve as prime minister after the next House of Representatives general election? (N=880)
| TaroAso | 16 |
| YukioHatoyama | 29 |
| Cannot say either | 52 |
| Cannot say/Do not know | 3 |
Q5. How do you feel about the resignation of Mr. Ozawa? (N=880)
| Was appropriate | 15 |
| Should have retired earlier | 61 |
| Should have continued as DPJ representative | 15 |
| Other | 2 |
| Cannot say/Do not know | 6 |
Q6. Mr. Hatoyama has expressed that Mr. Ozawa will continue to play an important role in the DPJ. What are your thoughts on this? (N=880)
| Approve | 32 |
| Against | 54 |
| Other | 3 |
| Cannot say/Do not know | 12 |
Q7. The next House of Representatives election is scheduled to take place by the fall. When do you think the elections should take place? (N=880)
| As soon as possible | 59 |
| As late as possible | 16 |
| No interest | 20 |
| Other | 2 |
| Cannot say/Do not know | 4 |
Q8. During the next election for the House of Representatives, which party will you vote for in your proportional-representation district? (N=880)
| Liberal Democratic Party | 28 |
| Democratic Party ofJapan | 41 |
| Komeito | 5 |
| JapanCommunist Party | 3 |
| Social Democratic Party | 2 |
| The People’s New Party | 0 |
| The Reform Club | 0 |
| The New Party ofJapan | 0 |
| Other | 1 |
| Undecided | 12 |
| Will abstain | 1 |
| Cannot say/Do not know | 6 |
Q9. What is the most desirable form for the next administration? (N=880)
| Administration centered on the LDP | 14 |
| Administration centered on the DPJ | 29 |
| A coalition that includes the LDP and DPJ | 42 |
| Other | 4 |
| Cannot say/Do not know | 10 |
Polling Information
F1. Gender (Determined by the polltaker) (N=880)
| Male | 47 |
| Female | 53 |
| Unknown | 0 |
F2. How old are you? (N=880)
| 20s | 7 |
| 30s | 18 |
| 40s | 18 |
| 50s | 20 |
| 60s | 22 |
| 70 years old or older | 14 |
| Refused to answer | 2 |
Average Age 52.5 years
F3. What is your occupation? (N=880)
| Agriculture, forestry and fisheries | 4 |
| Employee (company or governmental employee, teacher, etc.) | 47 |
| Self-owned business, self-employed (including a homemaker) | 13 |
| Full-time housewife (without job only) | 17 |
| Student | 2 |
| Unemployed | 16 |
| Refused to answer | 2 |