Photo/Illutration An illustration of the fighter jet to be jointly developed with Britain and Italy (Provided by the Defense Ministry)

More Japanese are opposed to government plans to jointly develop and export a next-generation of fighter jet, according to a telephone survey by The Asahi Shimbun.

The project is being undertaken in cooperation with Britain and Italy.

The survey conducted March 16 and 17 found that 40 percent of respondents were in favor and 45 percent opposed to such exports.

There was a greater gap in views by gender.

Fifty-seven percent of male respondents favored such exports and 36 percent were against them.

But among female respondents, only 25 percent were in favor and 54 percent were opposed.

While 56 percent of respondents who expressed support for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party backed the export of the fighter jet, more of those who said they supported pacifist-leaning junior coalition partner Komeito were opposed to the move.

Respondents were also asked whether they felt their economic situation had improved in the aftermath of the Nikkei 225 index exceeding 40,000 points for the first time.

One percent said they greatly felt an improvement, while 11 percent felt some improvement. In contrast, 47 percent said they felt no improvement and 41 percent felt very little improvement.

Opinion was split over a proposal to collect about 500 yen ($3.30) a month along with health insurance premiums to pay for measures to help improve the birth rate. Forty-five percent of respondents favored the measure, while 47 percent were opposed.

In a question about which LDP lawmaker would be most suitable as the next prime minister, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa’s name was added to the list for the first time in the January survey.

Nine percent of respondents picked Kamikawa, the same number that chose Taro Kono, the state minister in charge of digital transformation.

The leading lawmaker was Shigeru Ishiba, a former defense minister and LDP secretary-general, with 18 percent while Shinjiro Koizumi, a former environment minister, followed at 14 percent.

But “none of the above” continued to be the most popular response at 31 percent.

(This article was written by Daizo Teramoto, Hiroshi Kimijima and Toshio Ishimoto.)

Related News