Tokyo: An initial public opinion poll has given new Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his Cabinet a support rating of 63 percent.
Noda and his Cabinet were officially appointed on Friday, promising to guide the nation through the post-tsunami recovery, nuclear crisis and economic slump.
New prime ministers typically start out with relatively high approval ratings in the 60s. They usually decline steeply after an initial honeymoon.
Noda`s predecessor, Naoto Kan, started out with an approval rating of about 61 percent. That had fallen to below 20 percent near the end of his 15-month tenure.
Saturday`s poll by Kyodo News surveyed just over 1,000 people on Friday and Saturday. A poll of that size would have a margin of error of five percent.
Bureau Report
