Survey: Most don’t want Abe to stay as Japan’s PM

TOKYO: Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may have won a major election victory, but half the people surveyed post-election by the Asahi Shimbun newspaper don’t want him to stay prime minister.

It seems the election victory has boosted the approval rating for Abe’s administration, but not him.

Public support rate for Abe’s administration grew to 42% in the survey, conducted between Oct 23 and 24, up from 38% in its previous survey in mid-October.

But 47% of respondents don’t want Abe to continue as prime minister, exceeding 37% who want him to stay, said the survey published yesterday.

Abe’s disapproval rating slipped to 39% from 40% , according to the Asahi Shimbun’s survey.

Abe is due to remain prime minister until September 2018 when his tenure as Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leader ends and a new vote for LDP leader is held.

Abe’s LDP-led coalition won a combined 313 seats in Sunday’s national election, keeping its twothirds “super majority” in the 465-member lower house, local media said.

Several experts noted the ruling bloc’s win was less a victory for the long-ruling LDP than a defeat for a divided opposition.

The survey also showed 51% of respondents said the number of seats the ruling bloc’s won was “too many”, while 32% expressed the seat number was good. — Reuters