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Asahi exit poll: 49% support constitutional amendment

Forty-nine percent of voters in the July 10 Upper House election said the Constitution should be amended, according to an Asahi Shimbun exit poll.

The survey also showed that 44 percent were opposed to constitutional amendment, a goal of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

However, the poll found that revising the Constitution was not the central issue for voters when deciding which party to support in the Upper House election.

It showed that 70 percent of voters in favor of constitutional amendment said they cast their ballots for the four pro-revision parties–Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party, junior coalition partner, Komeito, Initiatives from Osaka and the Party for Japanese Kokoro–in the proportional representation portion.

However, 40 percent of those who said they oppose revision also voted for the four parties.

By age group, 55 percent of voters in their 30s supported revision, while 42 percent said it is not necessary.

Voters in their 70s were divided over the issue, with 40 percent backing revision and 43 percent opposed.

Of voters who cast ballots for the LDP, 32 percent did not support revision, while the comparable figure for Komeito, Initiatives from Osaka and the Party for Japanese Kokoro, totaled 36 percent, 35 percent and 31 percent, respectively.

Apparent discrepancies in voters’ stance on constitutional amendment and the parties they actually voted for means revision was not the deciding factor in making up their minds.

According to the poll, only 14 percent named revision as the most important issue in deciding their vote.

The issue cited by most of the voters, at 30 percent, was the economy and employment, followed by social security, at 22 percent.

Of voters who backed the LDP in the proportional representation portion, 5 percent said amending the Constitution was the most important issue. The rate for those who replied similarly was 4 percent for Komeito, 10 percent for Initiatives from Osaka and 15 percent for the Party for Japanese Kokoro.

Twenty-three percent of voters who voted for the main opposition Democratic Party and 34 percent who voted for the opposition Japanese Communist Party said that constitutional amendment was the most important issue.

The exit polls were conducted at 3,660 polling stations around Japan, and 182,646 valid responses were received.

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201607110037.html

July 11, 2016 - Posted by dunrenard | Japan | Article 9, Revisionism, Rewriting Constitution, War-Renouncing