Poll reveals falling supporting rate for Abe's cabinet

The supporting rate for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet dropped from the previous month to 54.8 percent, as a result of controversial legislation to lift ban on casinos and failure to make breakthrough in sovereignty dispute during Abe-Putin summit, showed a latest poll on Sunday.

Disapproval rate for the prime minister's cabinet increased 3.7 percentage points from a month earlier to 34.1 percent, and the supporting rate was 60.7 percent in November, according to the two-day poll conducted nationwide by Japanese news agency Kyodo News at the weekend and released on Sunday.

As for the new casino law, 69.6 percent were opposed while only 24.6 percent showed support, said the survey.

Japan's ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe passed a controversial bill to legalize casino gambling in Japan in the upper house of parliament on Wednesday, believing the legislation will help enhance revenue from tourism.

However, most of the opposition parties and the public have been vehement about the casinos' potential negative effects on society, with gambling addiction often cited as a possible harmful byproduct, along with organized crime.

The survey also found that 54.3 percent of respondents gave a negative assessment to the result of this week's Japan-Russia summit.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a two-day summit in Japan ended Friday, failing again to make breakthrough in a long-held territorial dispute which has been a major stumbling block for bilateral relations. Endit