Fifty-seven percent of voters are opposed to nuclear power generation, while 30 percent are in favor, according to an Asahi Shimbun survey.
Fifty-seven percent of voters are opposed to nuclear power generation, while 30 percent are in favor, according to an Asahi Shimbun survey.
The 57-percent figure compares with 48 percent recorded in a survey in October. The latest nationwide poll was conducted Dec. 10-11.
Since April, one month after the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, The Asahi Shimbun has incorporated questions on the use of nuclear power in its monthly poll.
In the December survey, male respondents opposed to nuclear power outnumbered those in favor for the first time.
The non-support rate for nuclear power has continued to exceed the support rate since an Asahi poll covering several countries in late May.
The non-support rate among females, which has consistently been higher than the support rate since mid-May, hit the 60-percent mark for the first time in the latest poll at 65 percent.
For males, the support rate came to 47 percent in the October survey, and the non-support rate was 38 percent.
The figures, however, came out in reverse in the latest poll, with the non-support rate at 49 percent and the support rate at 43 percent.
Concern about radioactive substances remains strong.
When asked to rate their concern, in terms of the effects on their own health and that of family members, four choices were offered. The answers "Greatly" and "fairly" accounted for a combined 67 percent.
A majority of those who answered "Not very concerned" supported nuclear energy in the September survey. However, the majority of those who chose that answer in the December poll was opposed to its use as a source of power generation.
Seventy-seven percent of the respondents favor the phasing-out of nuclear power in the future.
But when asked about the Noda administration's policy on natural energy promotion, 70 percent responded that they either "Cannot expect much" or "Cannot expect (anything) at all," a substantial spike from the 44 percent recorded in September.