DPJ 29% / LDP 23%

This is the front page headline in this morning's Asahi.

This would appear to be support rates for the upper house. For the first time ever, the DPJ lead.

I'll read the article closer and try to post an update to this entry soon!

Update 9:30 AM:

There is a Japanese article now on-line reporting the recent Asahi Shimbun survey.

I am going to give a rough summary of the results, but please be careful as there might be errors. The English article will probably be out this afternoon or early tomorrow morning.

In a poll conducted on June 9 and June 10, Asahi Shimbun asked people, "who will you vote for in the upcoming election?" 29% said the DPJ, while only 23% said the LDP. This is the first time more people have stated they will vote for DPJ than for the LDP.

The current support rate for Prime minister Abe's cabinet was 34%, up from the previous poll where it had been at 30%. The current unfavorable ratings were 48%, previously they had been 49%, so almost no change there.

When asked if they believed that the current government plan to fix the pension fund problems would work, 75% said they did NOT believe the government plan would work. Only 16% of those surveyed seem to support the plan. When asked if the DPJ was helping the situation, 42% said they were NOT, and 38% said they were.

When asked about each party's image, 45% said the LDP are reliable, while only 25% said the DPJ were. However, when asked who we could expect more reforms from, only 30% said the LDP, while 44% said the DPJ. When asked who was more concerned about the people, only 22% said LDP, while 44% said DPJ.

When asked if the G-8 summit had improved one's opinion about Shinzo Abe, 76% reported no change, 15% said their image had improved, and 3% said their image of Abe was worse.

Here is a clipping from this mornings Asahi Shimbun:

The blue line represents the support rate for the DPJ. The red line is for the LDP. At the bottom, the pink line is for the JCP, the green line for the Komeito, and the blue one for the Socialist party.

Update 4:40 PM

There is now an English article about the survey at Asahi.com: Survey: 29% would vote for Minshuto, 23% for LDP