Japanese public opposes keeping troops in Iraq-poll

[leftchick]

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-10-10T083149Z_01_MCC030699_RTRUKOC_0_UK-IRAQ-JAPAN.xml&archived=False

TOKYO (Reuters) - Three out of four Japanese people oppose extending the non-combat mission of their country's 600 troops in southern Iraq beyond its planned end in December, a newspaper poll showed on Monday.

Opposition to extending the mission was strong even among those who back Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

The daily Mainichi Shimbun said 77 percent of those surveyed opposed keeping Japan's military in Iraq beyond the end of Japan's self-imposed mandate on December 14, while 18 percent were in favour.

Some 66 percent of LDP supporters surveyed said they were opposed to an extension, said Mainichi.

[Why Syzygy]

1. I would have to agree

I'm totally opposed to the occupation. But that's not new.

[LynnTheDem]

2. The very vast majority of Japanese were opposed from the start.

But hey, ignore your own vast majority to "spread democracy" by invasion & occupation!

It's the American Way!

frRAHd! frRAHd! frRAHd!

[0007]

3. Koizumi is not popular these days in Japan

The poll also asked for views on Koizumi's visits to the Yasukuni shrine for war dead, another sensitive diplomatic topic. Fifty-one percent said they were opposed to Koizumi continuing his shrine visits while 44 percent said they were in favour.

Koizumi came to power in 2001, pledging to visit the shrine every year, but he has not paid his respects there since January 2004.

His visits have angered China and South Korea, which regard the shrine -- where 14 Class A war criminals are honoured along with Japan's 2.5 million war dead -- as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.

Koizumi has not made clear whether he will visit the shrine this year, repeatedly saying only that he will "make an appropriate decision".

Another bull shitter!

[BillZBubb]

4. Not popular?????

I thought LDP just won a huge landslide victory in last month's elections???? Did I miss something????

[rpannier]

7. They did

You are very correct, I'm sad to say.

[rpannier]

6. His party just blew through the opposition

in last months elections. It was a huge disappointment to those of us in Korea.

[rpannier]

5. Well...if they wanted them out that badly...

they shouldn't have voted for koizumi's party in the last elections. No sympathy from me.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

8. The problem is that the opposition parties are small and disorganized

and that Japan has an even lower percentage of voter participation than the U.S., largely due, I think, to fifty years of mostly one-party rule. The LDP has all the people who have actual governing experience, and it is supported by a government bureaucracy that actually handles day-to-day matters.

The opposition parties, except for the Communists, seem to try to run on charismatic leaders than on new ideas. But these charismatic leaders usually get caught up in financial scandals, and then the opposition party withers away, having nothing else to offer.

(Japan is one country where I would actually suggest that people vote Communist and give the establishment a scare. Japanese Communists tend to be mild-mannered folks who smile and wave from their campaign trucks, and they've done a fairly good job of governing several cities, including Kyoto.)