80 pct of Japanese reluctant on SDF dispatch: poll
( 2003-12-01 11:13) (Xinhua)
A weekend poll found that
more than 80 per cent of Japanese are opposed or cautious about the government's
plan to send the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to Iraq, said the leading Mainichi
Shimbun Monday.
The poll also found that the approval rating for Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi's Cabinet dropped 14 per centage points to 42 per cent, while the
disapproval rating reached to 37 per cent, up 11 points from last survey in
October.
Responding to the telephone poll, 43 per cent people said the SDF should not
go to Iraq at all, and 40 per cent would rather not to see the dispatch until
the security situation turns better. Nine percent want the SDF to set off as
soon as possible.
The survey was conducted on Saturday and Sunday as the killing of two
Japanese diplomats in Iraq was reported on Sunday morning.
Two Japanese diplomats were ambushed and shot dead when driving near the
northern city of Tikrit. They were the first Japanese killed since the Iraqi war
started in March.
Terror groups have reportedly warned of attacks on Japanese targets if Japan
sends the SDF to Iraq.
Koizumi and other senior Japanese officials expressed Sunday their resolve
not to submit to terror attacks and to continue plan about Iraqi
reconstruction.
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