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2016 June 15 - 21 [POLITICS]

Opinion polls show majority of public expect opposition parties to win more Diet seats

June 21, 2016
The latest opinion polls by news media on June 20 showed that people have high expectations for the electoral success of the four opposition parties which agreed to field joint candidates in all 32 single-seat constituencies in the upcoming House of Councilors election.

The major daily Mainichi Shimbun carried its opinion poll results which indicate that the percentage of respondents who hoped for the four opposition parties’ advance in the election stood at 46%, exceeding 34% for those who hoped for the ruling parties’ advance. Among those without party affiliation, 57% expressed their expectations for an election victory of the opposition forces, while 20% expected a success of the ruling bloc.

Another opinion poll by the Yomiuri Shimbun reveals that 40% welcomed the opposition parties’ decision to field joint candidates, whereas 36% did not welcome this decision.

A survey by public broadcaster NHK found that 31% of the respondents hoped that opposition parties would increase their seats in the Upper House. This is significantly higher than the percentage of those who hoped that the ruling parties would increase their seats (23%).

An Asahi Shimbun survey asked respondents for their opinions concerning the current situation where the Liberal Democratic Party is dominant power in the Diet. Of them, 23% said it is “good” and 59% said it is “not good”. The survey shows that 59% expected the opposition parties to secure more Diet seats to rival the LDP, while 32% did not expect that.

Although Prime Minister Abe Shinzo says that the “Abenomics” economic policy is the key issue in the election campaign, Abenomics is losing public support. The Kyodo News survey (published on June 19) makes it clear that only 37.5% thought Abenomics to be effective in improving the economy, while 62.5% felt otherwise.

Past related article:
> 4 parties and Civil Alliance confirm many policies in common in addition to scrapping war laws [June 8, 2016]
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