Majority says Japan's Middle East aid should be non-military: poll

TOKYO (Xinhua) - A latest poll result showed that 57.9 percent of respondents in Japan think the country's aid for the Middle East countries should be limited to non-military, local media reported.

The survey, conducted by Japan's Kyodo News Agency on Friday and Saturday, came one week after the Islamic State (IS) militant group posted an online video showing it had killed a Japanese hostage.

According to the survey, 57.9 percent of respondents believed Japan's support to those countries affected by IS violence should be non-military, while 16.6 percent said it should include logistical support to the U.S.-led coalition fighting IS.

Some 11.2 percent said Japan should provide financial aid for the coalition's military operations against IS militants, with only 2.8 percent supporting Japan's direct involvement in the attacks.

The approval rating for Shinzo Abe's cabinet stood at 54.2 percent, up 1.4 percentage points from the previous survey on Jan. 25.

Abe's Liberal Democratic Party was supported by 39.0 percent, down from 39.6 percent in the last survey, while 7.4 percent backed the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, down from 8. 1 percent. A total of 38.2 percent said they do not support any particular party.

Kyodo News polled 1,438 households nationwide by telephone randomly, receiving valid responses from 1,015 people.