People's awareness is behind falling approval rates of Koizumi Cabinet -- Akahata editorial, March 8 (Excerpts)

An Asahi Shimbun poll published on March 3 shows the approval rate for the cabinet of Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro dropped to 44 percent, while the disapproval rate jumped to 40 percent. Clearly, public support for the Koizumi Cabinet is on the wane.

The previous substantial fall in support rates for the Koizumi Cabinet was in the wake of the dismissal of Tanaka Makiko as foreign minister in late January. Ruling party officials at the time tried hard to describe the fall as no more than a transient phenomenon.

That was not so. What may be called "estrangement from Koizumi" reflects the public anger at the Koizumi Cabinet's "structural reform" that has exacerbated the economic recession and increased job insecurity.

In the Asahi poll, 61 percent of the respondents said priority should be given to efforts to boost the economy and increase employment, but not to the "structural reform." That a majority called for a policy change means that many people have realized that the Koizumi "reform" is to blame for worsening living conditions and putting the national economy in a spiral of difficulty.

Developments in the last one month in the wake of the foreign minister's dismissal show that the Koizumi government is the same as past Liberal Democratic Party governments and that Koizumi is the most obstinate in rejecting any change away from the LDP's political principle of submission to the United States and defense of the interests of Japanese large corporations.

The prime minister has failed to criticize U.S President Bush for using the "axis of evil" threat against Iran, Iraq, and North Korea. On the contrary, he praised Bush for his "resolute determination" to keep the war on terrorism going.

The prime minister promised the U.S. president that the Japanese government will accelerate write-offs of non-performing loans held by Japan's major banks.

It has been revealed that the U.S. president in preparation for the Japan-U.S. summit had sent a letter to the Japanese prime minister, demanding that non-performing loans be put to markets soon as possible.

The more Prime Minister Koizumi is committed to submission to the United States and continuing his misgovernment, the more clearly his government will reveal itself as having nothing to do with true reform. The contradiction between the government and the people will grow sharper. (end)