Support for Japan PM Abe tumbles again

TOKYO, July 13 (Reuters) Support for Japan's embattled Prime Minister Shinzo Abe tumbled to a new low of 25.7 percent in a poll published today, just over two weeks ahead of a crucial upper house election.

The once-popular 52-year-old kicked off his campaign yesterday, renewing a vow to resolve chaos in the pension system, but polls indicate he has yet to convince a public angered by the government's botching of premium records.

Corruption scandals involving his cabinet have also battered Abe's image.

Some 53.2 per cent of respondents to the Jiji news agency poll carried out July 6-9 said they did not support Abe.

Sliding support rates -- analysts say anything below 30 percent is dangerous -- mean the ruling coalition's chances of maintaining its upper house majority in the July 29 elections are also falling.

A separate poll published in the daily Yomiuri Shimbun showed support for Abe at 30.2 per cent.

About 28 per cent of respondents to the poll carried out from July 10-12 said they would vote for the main opposition Democratic Party in the proportional representation section of the election, up 3 percentage points on a similar poll a week earlier.

A big loss in Abe's first ballot box test since coming to office in September would not force him out of office, but would likely tempt his ruling Liberal Democratic Party to replace him.

It would also make it hard to enact laws, possibly sparking a reshuffle of party loyalties among Democrat and LDP lawmakers and ushering in a period of policy stagnation.

REUTERS SW DS1345