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PM Abe gets poll boost after visit by Chinese premier

Support for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has topped 50 percent for the first time this year after a landmark visit by China's premier, a survey said yesterday.

Prime Minister Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) last week became the first Chinese leader to visit Japan in seven years, striking a conciliatory tone on history issues that have long impeded relations between the Asian powers.

The poll boost from Wen marks an ironic twist for Abe, who throughout his career has been seen as a hardliner in relations with Japan's Asian neighbors.

Abe's approval rate jumped to 50.4 percent from 43.2 percent last month, according to the survey by the Nippon Television Network Corp.

His disapproval rate fell by five points to 34.0 percent, according to the poll of 1,089 eligible voters across Japan.

It was the first time in four months that Abe's support has topped 50 percent. Abe faces a critical test in July with elections for the upper house of parliament.

A separate survey by TV Tokyo, another private network, put Abe's approval rating at 49 percent, up six percentage points from its last poll in February.

While the two networks did not give any factors for the rise, they conducted the polls just as Wen visited Japan for a summit with Abe.

Putting aside confrontation, the leaders agreed to seek reconciliation on the problems between China and Japan including bitter memories of the past.

Abe took office in September last year, replacing veteran leader Junichiro Koizumi who enjoyed strong domestic popularity throughout his five-year tenure.

Within days of taking office, Abe visited China and South Korea, which had refused summits with Koizumi due to his visits to a controversial war shrine.

Abe, known for his conservative views on history issues, has stayed silent on whether he will visit the Yasukuni shrine, which venerates war dead and war criminals alike.

"Prime Minister Abe has so far scored points in diplomacy, in sharp contrast to Koizumi," said Takehiko Yamamoto, professor of international politics at Waseda University in Tokyo.

"Wen's visit to Japan last week was a big signal of improvement in Japan-China relations and his tough stance on North Korea has also firmed up support for him," Yamamoto said.

Abe built his career campaigning for a tough line on North Korea over its abductions of Japanese civilians in the 1970s and 1980s.

Abe has refused to fund a aid-for-disarmament deal with North Korea. Instead, his government last week extended sweeping sanctions against the communist state.

However, Yamamoto said foreign affairs can only help the prime minister to a limited extent.

Abe, who at 52 is Japan's youngest post-war premier, has watched his popularity plummet since December amid public perception that he lacks authority following repeated gaffes and scandals among aides.
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