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North Korea meeting boosts Koizumi's popularity

Fukie, left, and Yasushi Chimura, right, look on as their children, from second left, O Kyong Ho, O Kyong Ae and O Kyong Sok, receive bouquets of flowers from local officials during a ceremony upon their arrival at Chimura's hometown of Obama in central Japan yesterday. The couple spent two nights with their children in Tokyo after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi brought the children to Japan on Saturday. PHOTO: AP

Japan's prime minister enjoyed a boost in opinion poll ratings yesterday after his weekend summit in North Korea, where he won the release of five children of Japanese abducted by the North but earned criticism for failing to gain a full accounting of other abductees.

Polls conducted by three of Japan's top national newspapers showed substantial jumps in approval of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet -- strengthening the government less than two months before elections for the upper house of Parliament in July.

The surveys also indicated strong support for the results of Koizumi's one-day summit with Northern leader Kim Jong Il on Saturday.

The meeting led to Pyongyang's release of five children of Japanese citizens who were kidnapped by Northern agents in the 1970s in 1980s. The five abductees were allowed to return to Japan but their kin remained behind in the North.

The Asahi newspaper showed support for Koizumi's Cabinet rose to 54 percent in telephone interviews on Sunday, from 45 percent in a survey conducted on May 14-15.

The Mainichi newspaper poll had support increasing from 47 percent to 58 percent in the same period. The Yomiuri newspaper showed support at 54 percent.

The poll results contrasted sharply with a torrent of criticism Koizumi faced from some families of abductees, who argued he gave too much aid to Kim without winning a full accounting of what happened to all the North's victims.

In the first Koizumi-Kim meeting in 2002, North Korea admitted kidnapping 13 Japanese in the 1970s and 80s. Kim said eight had died, but allowed five survivors to return to Japan.

Since then, Japan has pushed to win the release of eight family members -- seven children and one husband -- of the five repatriated abductees, and for more details about the fates of the eight others.

Tokyo also wants an investigation into two other Japanese believed to be victims who have not been accounted for.

In Saturday's meeting, Koizumi won the release of five of the children, while the husband, American Charles Jenkins, elected to stay in North Korea with his two children over fears he could face US prosecution for his alleged desertion of his US Army unit in South Korea in 1965.

In return, Koizumi promised 250,000 tonnes of rice aid and US$10 million in medical and other humanitarian supplies.

Criticism has focused on Koizumi's failure to win a full accounting of the missing abductees, and some have accused him of naively trusting Kim's pledges and rewarding him with assistance.

"The government needs to toughen its stance in negotiations with North Korea. Resolving pending issues with North Korea will require intense efforts on the part of Japan," the Yomiuri said in an editorial yesterday.

Koizumi's government, however, insisted that the visit yielded substantial benefits, such as an agreement to investigate the fates of the missing. Pyongyang had previously said that those cases were closed.

"Obviously, that position is now changed. The visit by the prime minister prompted them to make a fresh start on the issue," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said.

Despite the mixed feelings over the summit, the polls showed overall approval. Mainichi showed 62 percent of respondents approving the results, while Asahi reported 67 percent, and Yomiuri 63 percent.

The surveys, however, suggested skepticism about eventual normalization of ties between the two nations. Japan and North Korea have never had official diplomatic ties.

The Yomiuri telephoned 1,882 adults across Japan on Sunday for a response rate of 59 percent. The Asahi interviewed 1,018 adults, and the Mainichi surveyed 1,040 people. None of the polls provided a margin of error.
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