90% of Japanese polled support Obama
New U.S. President Obama, 47, started his work on Jan. 21, a day after his historic inaugural address. Obama retook his oath of office at the White House because a word was out of sequence when he was sworn in on Tuesday. However, Obama has now set about to bring change. To begin with, Obama has frozen pay raises for high-ranking government officials and has started his administration. Across the Pacific, Obama's support rate reached 89.7% in Japan, according to an online poll. In Japan as well, all eyes are on everything he does.
In Japan, public support for Obama hit an overwhelming 89.7% rate. This data, which came out on Jan. 22, is a finding from an online questionnaire survey conducted on Jan. 9-13 by Lifenet Insurance Co., an Internet life insurance firm. The poll was conducted of males and females in their teens and in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. Valid responses totaled 968. The figure is 5.7 points higher than the 84.0% rating in a recent CNN poll, which was conducted in the United States and revealed on Jan. 18.The Japanese public's feeling of expectations for Obama may be stronger than the American public's. In the Lifenet survey, those who support Obama were further asked to answer what they would like him to do (up to three choices). The results are:
1. Overcome the financial crisis (78.7%)
2. Favorable impact on the Japanese economy (48.0%)
3. Environmental policy (37.3%)
4. North Korea problem (34.0%)
4. Middle East stabilization (22.7%)
These issues should be undertaken by the Japanese government. However, the latest rate of public support for the Aso cabinet, which holds Japan's fate, is as low as 19.2%, according to a Kyodo News telephone poll released on Jan. 12. Asked about the Aso cabinet's 2-trillion-yen cash handout plan, 70.5% gave negative answers. The figure shows public disappointment at such a policy. The online poll this time seems to reflect the sad reality of Japan that has no choice but to hang its hopes on a foreign country's new president.
