TOKYO (Reuters) - Two-thirds of Japanese voters back Prime Minister Naoto Kan's decision to close a nuclear plant seen at risk from a major earthquake but the move failed to give the unpopular premier much of a ratings bounce, surveys showed Monday.
Kan, under fire for his handling of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant after the massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami, this month called for the Hamaoka nuclear plant in central Japan to halt operations until it can be better defended against a similar disaster.
Chubu Electric, which operates the Hamaoka plant, last week reluctantly agreed to a shutdown which it completed over the weekend.
A Mainichi newspaper poll showed 66 percent of respondents welcomed the prime minister's decision but voter support for Kan's government inched up to just 27 percent from the previous April survey's 22 percent.
A poll by the Yomiuri newspaper showed 68 percent approval for the Hamaoka decision but Kan's support rating fell 1 point to 30 percent.
Half of respondents to the Mainichi daily poll wanted Kan to oversee the initial phase of reconstruction efforts after the disaster in northeastern Japan, while 25 percent said he should quit as soon as possible.
NUCLEAR PLANT REDUCTIONS
Kan said last week that Japan's nuclear policy, which envisages more than 50 percent of its total electricity supply coming from nuclear power by 2030, must be reviewed from scratch and that renewable energy would be a key pillar of the country's energy policy.
The Mainichi poll showed nearly half believed the number of nuclear plants in Japan should be reduced while 12 percent thought they should all be scrapped. Japan has 54 nuclear reactors.
Engineers are still struggling to bring the crippled Fukushima plant under control more than two months after the disaster.
Government officials said over the weekend they would prepare a new approach to cooling the reactors after the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co, discovered that one reactor had developed a leak in its main vessel following a meltdown of fuel rods.
Kan said Monday that he expected officials to stick to the original target of stablising the plant and bringing its reactors to a state of "cold shutdown" by January.
Both polls showed that voters were, by a slim margin, willing to accept an increase in taxes to help finance the government's reconstruction efforts. The overall cost of damage from the disaster is estimated at $300 billion (185 billion pounds).
The government this month passed a 4 trillion yen ($50 billion) package to clear debris and build temporary housing, which was financed by spending cuts and pension reserves.
A mix of tax hikes and new bond issuance is a likely option to fund additional reconstruction spending. Raising the politically sensitive 5 percent consumption tax is one option, as it is considered low by international standards.
(Reporting by Yoko Nishikawa; Editing by Edmund Klamann)
