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Struggles Koizumi with Party Scandal, Support Fades February 25, 2002 Koizumi Struggles with Party Scandal, Support Fades By REUTERS Filed at 1:36 a.m. ET TOKYO (Reuters) - Public support for Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has slipped further as his leadership is being called into question for the second time in a month, this time over allegations of corruption in his own ruling party. An opinion poll published Monday was the first to show supporters outnumbered by non-supporters since the once-idolized prime minister swept to power on a reform agenda last April. As Koizumi's popularity fades, so does his ability to push reforms he says are needed to revive the economy, analysts say. The poll, carried out by Fuji Television and published in the Sankei Shimbun daily, showed 44.4 percent of 500 respondents said they supported Koizumi while 49.4 percent said they did not. Koizumi's decision to fire popular but erratic Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka last month dealt a huge blow to his public support, which only a few months ago stood at around 70 percent. Now his leadership is being tested again by a scandal involving one of the main players in Tanaka's dismissal, Liberal Democratic Party conservative Muneo Suzuki, over the awarding of foreign ministry-backed construction contracts. ``The scandal is a second blow to Koizumi and will corner him into an even more difficult situation,'' political commentator Shigetada Kishii said on private TV channel TBS Monday. Suzuki denies any wrongdoing, but calls for his resignation have been growing from members of the LDP, who fear the scandal is further damaging the party's already murky image. Almost two thirds of respondents in the poll said their view of Koizumi's cabinet had changed since Tanaka was sacked after a dispute with Suzuki, a critic of the prime minister's reforms. An overwhelming 98 percent said the dispute -- involving allegations of lying over arrangements at last month's aid Afghan conference in Tokyo -had not been dealt with properly. ``He didn't act decisively. He was non-committal. It made a very bad impression on people who thought Koizumi was a reformer,'' said Shigenori Okazaki, political analyst at UBS Warburg of Koizumi's handling of the Tanaka affair. Tanaka herself, seen as a key asset when she backed Koizumi's bid for the premiership last year, lashed out last week, accusing him of joining the anti-reformers he had vowed to crush. LEADERSHIP TESTED Two thirds of the poll respondents, who were surveyed on Friday, said they did not believe Koizumi could manage to revive the economy, while 25 percent said they thought he could. Japan is now in its third and deepest recession in a decade. ``There is only one way he can save himself, and that is to fight decisively against politicians who favor the status quo,'' said Okazaki. Koizumi's latest headache involves Suzuki's alleged influence over a foreign ministry-funded construction project on a former Japanese island held by Russia. The prime minister ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday to carry out an inquiry into Suzuki's activities, the results of which are scheduled to be announced next Monday. Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi gathered senior ministry officials Monday morning to caution them against inappropriate contact with politicians, Kyodo news service reported. The LDP also agreed Monday that Suzuki could be questioned as a sworn witness in parliament over the affair, media reported. Though he has no formal connection with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Suzuki is alleged to have helped rig bids for the construction contract in favor of a company in his own constituency on the northern island of Hokkaido. The contract was for the construction of a facility, nicknamed ``Muneo House'' on Kunashiri island, one of four Russian-held islands off Japan's north coast. Copyright 2002 Reuters Ltd. | Privacy Information

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