Japanese public opinions on planned tax hike divided

A latest poll released Sunday shows that Japanese public views on the planned sales tax hike in April by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have divided as about 50 percent opposed and 46.8 percent supportive. The survey, conducted by Japan's Kyodo News through telephone over the weekend, covered 1,015 people out of 1,435 households with eligible voters. Abe is expected to make the final decision next month to raise the sales tax, which currently stands at 5 percent, to 8 percent in April. Meanwhile, the latest poll also showed that the support rate for Abe's cabinet jumped to 61.8 percent from 57.7 in the previous one in last month, while disapproval rate decreased to 20.4 percent from 25.6. It said that about 30.9 percent of the respondents showed doubt that Tokyo's Summer Olympics in 2020 would make progress in the tsunami-hit northeast area, while 28.2 said they expect the Games could bring benefits to the area. About 85.6 percent welcomed the success of Tokyo's bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics, compared with 12.9 percent who did not. About 75.8 percent said the government should take the lead in handling the Fukushima situation including the radioactive water leaks, against 9.3 percent who said Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator, should take the lead.