Abe's cabinet support rate down to 68.0 pct: poll

TOKYO, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The support rate for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet dropped to 68.0 percent from previous 70.9 percent, according to the latest poll released on Sunday.

The poll, which was conducted by Kyodo news agency through the weekend, showed that 65 percent of respondents expected positive effects from Abe's economic policies, against 29 percent who expressed negative opinions.

About 51.6 percent of respondents opposed Abe's attempt to revise the article 96 of the constitution, while 37.2 percent supported the controversial proposal.

Covering 1,440 eligible voters and responded by 1,010, the survey also found that the support rate for Japan Restoration Party stood at 27.3 percent, while 65.6 percent said they do not have expectations for the party in the upcoming upper house election.

Toru Hashimoto, co-head of the conservative party, was strongly criticized by neighboring countries and Japanese lawmakers over his defending for wartime sexual slavery.

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