More than 80 percent of Japanese responding to a poll believe AIDS patients and people infected with HIV should not be discriminated against -- but many are still reluctant to even share an office with them -- according to a Cabinet Office survey released Saturday.

The survey was conducted last December on 5,000 people aged 15 or older, of whom 69.7 percent responded. It is the fourth survey of its kind on AIDS, but first to include teenagers, officials said.

The results showed that teenagers are most fearful of contracting AIDS, although they have a relatively poor understanding of how the disease is transmitted and how it can be prevented.