TOKYO, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- The support rate for Japan's outspoken nationalist Shintaro Ishihara has dropped to a record low 53 percent, a Tokyo survey showed Wednesday.
The unpopularity rate for the hawkish Tokyo governor hit a record high of 35 percent, according to the Asahi Shimbun daily survey.
Recent scandals over public funds seem to be a key reason behind Ishihara's dwindling support, the newspaper said. The survey showed that at least 60 percent of voters in Tokyo believe the governor's spending of public funds was "inappropriate."
Ishihara's support rate peaked at 78 percent in April 2002, three years after he took over as Tokyo governor. He plans to seek a third term in April to carry out the capital's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.
