TOKYO (MNI) – The approval rating for Japanese Prime Minister
Yoshihiko Noda has slumped as his plan to hike the 5% sales tax in
coming years failed to win widespread support, according to the latest
poll by local media.

The public rating for Noda’s cabinet has declined 8.9 percentage
points to 35.7% in a weekend telephone poll conducted by Kyodo News,
from its previous survey a month ago, even though the main opposition
party supports a sales tax hike in principle.

The poll also showed that the cabinet’s disapproval rating has
climbed 10.2 percentage points to 50.5%, marking the first time that the
disapproval rating has topped the support rating since Noda took office
in September.

But Noda’s the approval rating still stands above the key 20% mark.
His DPJ predecessors Naoto Kan and Yukio Hatoyama resigned after their
support ratings dropped below the level.

The Kyodo survey also found that 52.9% of respondents opposed
Noda’s plan to raise the consumption (sales) sales tax to 10% in two
stages while that 45.6% of the respondents supported such a plan.

The ruling Democratic Party of Japan has endorsed Noda’s proposal
to raise the tax rate from the current 5% to 10% by 2015 in order to
fund growing public pension and medical costs but nine DPJ lawmakers
have left the party.

Noda is now mulling a new approach in a bid to halt a further slide
in public support and break an impasse in tax hikes.

He plans to appoint DPJ Diet affairs chief Hirofumi Hirano to a
cabinet post which will be reshuffled on Friday, Japanese newspapers
reported.

Noda will replace Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa and Consumer
Affairs Minister Kenji Yamaoka, who have both been censured by the
opposition-controlled upper house.

Hirano is a close ally of former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who
has kept his distance from Noda. Hirano has also been reluctant to back
the sales tax hike plan.

The government aims to convene a regular 150-day parliamentary
session either on Jan. 23 or 24, but the Liberal Democratic Party, New
Komeito and other opposition parties are refusing to participate in
deliberations if the two censured ministers are still in their posts.

tokyo@marketnews.com
** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4835 **

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