70% back Japan-N. Korea summit: Jiji poll

April 13, 2018

Tokyo- About 70 percent of Japanese people support the idea of holding a top-level meeting between Japan and North Korea, a Jiji Press opinion poll showed Friday.

According to the poll, conducted for four days through Monday, 70.2 percent said Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should hold a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

It also showed that 16.4 percent think such a summit should not be held, while 13.3 percent said they do not know whether there is a need for one.

Among supporters of Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, 74.8 percent said there should be a Japan-North Korea summit.

The results are believed to reflect a flurry of diplomatic efforts involving North Korea, which has continued nuclear and missile development programs.

Since the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in February, North Korea has shown greater readiness for dialogue.

Kim visited China in March for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and is scheduled to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on April 27. In addition, arrangements are under way to hold a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Kim by early June.

The Japanese government is exploring the possibility of an Abe-Kim meeting and the prime minister is expected to make a careful decision. Abe has said it would be meaningless to hold dialogue for the sake of dialogue.

The interview-based survey covered 2,000 people aged 18 and older across Japan. Valid responses were received from 63.4 pct of them. Jiji Press