TOKYO — Voter support for Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's government edged lower after parliament passed an increase in sales tax, a poll by Kyodo news agency showed Sunday, with more than half of respondents opposing the higher tax. The contentious plan to double the sales tax passed the opposition-controlled upper house on Friday after Noda pledged to hold a general election “soon”. Faced with a threat of a no-confidence motion and possible parliamentary paralysis that would sink his signature tax plan, Noda struck a compromise deal with the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party and the smaller New Komeito party. Support for Noda's government stood at 27.9 percent, just down from 28.1 percent in a survey the previous month, according to the latest poll, conducted on Aug. 11-12. The poll showed 56.1 percent of voters surveyed opposed the sales tax increase, compared with 42.2 percent who supported it, which was largely in line with the previous survey. Asked about the timing of lower house election, 35.1 percent said “as soon as possible”, 22.5 percent said some time “this autumn to winter” and 10.6 percent said “early next year”. No one expects lower house members to serve their full four-year terms through to August 2013 but Noda's ruling party seems eager to delay an election as long as possible. The survey also showed that 50.4 percent of respondents disapproved of the government's response to South Korean President Lee Myung Bak's surprise visit Friday to disputed islands known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea. — Reuters
