A wide majority of Japanese worry the radiation released by the March 11 earthquake could have an impact on their health, UPI cited a survey released Sunday as indicating. The Yomiuri Shimbun poll said 68 percent of Japanese were concerned they or their families could be harmed by the radioactive material that escaped from the Fukushima No. 1 plant outside Tokyo following the massive quake and tsunami. The concerns were highest at 76 percent in the Tohoku and Kanto regions around Tokyo and northeaster Honshu. Other regions of Japan averaged 50 percent to 60 percent. Another 80 percent said they worried another major quake could hit the specific areas where they live. Opinions on the government's response to the disaster varied with 82-percent saying the Self-Defense Forces performed well, but only 3 percent saluting the lawmakers in the Diet and 6 percent saying the government overall did a good job. Yomiuri Shimbun said the low marks for Tokyo indicated dissatisfaction with the political wrangling that went on between the ruling and opposition parties. The Yomiuri Shimbun poll was conducted Sept. 3-4. Of 3,000 random voters contacted, 1,673 responded. The margin of error was not announced.
