Ichiro Ozawa's announcement that he will resign as leader of the Democratic Party of Japan has so far had no significant impact on the upcoming general election, a Kyodo survey suggested Tuesday.
In a telephone poll conducted Monday and Tuesday, 65.5 percent of the 1,024 respondents said Ozawa's resignation as DPJ chief over a political fundraising scandal has come too late, with only 24.7 percent agreeing that his stated reason for stepping down — to enhance party solidarity to win the election and form a government — was convincing.
Meanwhile, the approval rate for the Cabinet of Prime Minister Taro Aso fell to 28.0 percent, down 1.6 points from the previous Kyodo poll in late April. On the other hand, the Cabinet's disapproval rate also fell, by 1.1 points to 55.1 percent.