According to major media opinion polls, if the choice of who will lead the country was up to the populace, Prime Minister Naoto Kan would retain his position against fellow Democratic Party of Japan member Ichiro Ozawa's challenge to the party presidency and the premiership.
In all these surveys, Kan tends to receive support from 60 to 80 percent of the respondents, whereas Ozawa garners less than 20 percent. But as these media are quick to point out, the numbers have little meaning, since the general citizenry is not going to cast ballots. Only DPJ members will.
However, by conducting these surveys on an almost daily basis, the big newspapers and wire services may affect the vote. It's said that within the party Ozawa has an edge, but some of his supporters may look at the surveys and wonder about their own individual political futures. Their support for Ozawa might hurt them when they are up for re-election, which could be sooner than expected, since some in the media are predicting that Ozawa may dissolve the Diet if he becomes prime minister and call a general election.