Posted on 05/24/2004 5:03:04 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Japanese Leader Enjoys Boost in Support
By JOSEPH COLEMAN, Associated Press Writer
TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi reaped the political benefits Monday of his weekend summit in North Korea (news - web sites), enjoying a boost in ratings despite harsh criticism that he failed to win enough concessions from Pyongyang.
Polls in two of Japan's top national newspapers showed substantial jumps in approval of Koizumi's Cabinet — strengthening the government less than two months before elections for the upper house of Parliament in July.
The surveys also indicated strong support for the results of Koizumi's one-day summit with Northern leader Kim Jong Il on Saturday: Pyongyang released five children of Japanese citizens formerly kidnapped by Northern agents.
The Asahi newspaper showed support for Koizumi's Cabinet rose to 54 percent Sunday from 45 percent in a survey May 14-15. The Mainichi newspaper poll had support increasing from 47 percent to 58 percent in the same period. Yomiuri newspaper also showed support at 54 percent.
The results were a sharp contrast with the torrent of criticism Koizumi faced from some families of abductees, who argued he gave too much aid to Kim without winning a full accounting of all the North's victims.
In the first Koizumi-Kim meeting in 2002, North Korea admitted kidnapping 13 Japanese in the 1970s and 80s. Kim said eight of them were dead, but he allowed the five survivors to return to Japan.
Since then, Japan has pushed to win release of eight family members — seven children and one husband — of the five repatriated abductees, and for more details on the fates of the eight victims that Pyongyang claims are dead.
In Saturday's meeting, Koizumi won the release of five of the children, while the one husband, American Charles Jenkins, elected to stay in North Korea with his two children over fears he could face prosecution for his alleged desertion of his U.S. Army unit in 1965.
In return, Koizumi promised 250,000 tons of rice aid and $10 million in medical and other humanitarian supplies.
Criticism has focused on Koizumi's failure to win a full accounting of the missing abductees, and some have accused him of naivete by trusting in Kim's pledges and rewarding him with assistance.
"The government needs to toughen its stance in negotiations with North Korea," the Yomiuri said in an editorial Monday. "Resolving pending issues with North Korea will require intense efforts on the part of Japan."
Koizumi's government, however, insisted that the visit yielded substantial benefits, such as winning a North Korean agreement to investigate the fates of the missing. Pyongyang had previously said that those cases were closed.
"Obviously, that position is now changed," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda. "The visit by the prime minister prompted them to make a fresh start on the issue."
Despite the mixed feelings over the summit, the polls showed approval with the overall results. Mainichi showed 62 percent of respondents approving of the results; compared with 67 percent for the Asahi, and 63 percent for the Yomiuri.
The Yomiuri telephoned 1,882 adults across Japan on Sunday for a response rate of 59 percent. The Asahi interviewed 1,018 adults, and the Mainichi surveyed 1,040 people. None of the polls provided a margin of error.
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