Japan PM's support less than 50 percent

TOKYO: Public support for Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has sunk further, according to surveys published yesterday and on the weekend, as he weighed potentially divisive decisions to keep the fiscal 2010-11 budget on track.

Yesterday Hatoyama gave up an important campaign pledge in order to rein in a huge public debt worrying investors and voters alike. He said he would replace a surcharge on gasoline with a new tax at the same rate due to falling tax revenues. This is a reversal of a main campaign pledge to end the surcharge.

He said he would keep his promise to hand out child allowances to families, regardless of their income. Hatoyama also said he would devote 2 trillion yen to support jobs and regional economies.