Yukio Hatoyama, the new president of the Democratic Party of Japan, received support from 43.6 percent of respondents as their preference for the next prime minister in a survey released Sunday, exceeding Prime Minister Taro Aso, who was backed by 32 percent.

The nationwide telephone survey was conducted Saturday and Sunday by Kyodo News after Hatoyama was elected to head the DPJ.

In a survey in late April, Aso exceeded Hatoyama's predecessor, Ichiro Ozawa, by 13.7 percentage points.