Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's new Cabinet got the support of 65 percent of people polled overnight Tuesday by Kyodo News, while half of the respondents said Abe should not visit the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine.
It is the third-highest rate of public support shown in a Kyodo first opinion poll on new prime ministers in the past 15 years, following Junichiro Koizumi at 86.3 percent in 2001 and Morihiro Hosokawa at 75.7 percent in 1993.
The disapproval rate stood at 16.2 percent in the telephone poll conducted from Tuesday evening to Wednesday of 1,035 people.
As to reasons for supporting Abe, the largest group, at 22.6 percent, said there was no other suitable person, followed by 21.9 percent who said they trusted Abe.
Asked if Abe should visit Yasukuni Shrine, 51.3 percent said he should not and 33 percent said he should.
Koizumi's annual visits to Yasukuni Shrine sparked diplomatic outcries and strained ties with other parts of Asia, particularly China and South Korea, because the shrine dedicated to the nation's war dead also honors Class-A war criminals.
Pension and other social security issues were cited by 37.9 percent as the priority for Abe, followed by 17.5 percent who said he should prioritize economic stimulus measures. Rebuilding state finances was cited by 11.6 percent.
Asked about their impressions of the new Cabinet, 23.3 percent said they thought it had more or less the same faces as in past Cabinets. The second-largest group, 16.6 percent, said they thought it did not represent any desire to reform, slightly outnumbering 15.5 percent who felt the selection reflected Abe's eagerness to pursue reforms.
Abe, 52, was elected prime minister in the Diet on Tuesday, the youngest government leader in the postwar era.
He has pledged to push ahead with structural reform measures initially presented by his predecessor, Koizumi.