The World : Takeshita Support at 3.9%

Results of a Japanese public opinion poll indicate that support for Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita has fallen to 3.9%, the Kyodo News Service reported. Of the 1,000 people polled by the news service April 13-14, 87.6% said they do not support the prime minister, Kyodo reported, while the rest had no opinion. Of those who expressed dissatisfaction with Takeshita, 40.3% cited a general lack of trust, 23% blamed a widening political scandal involving Recruit Co. and 11.9% cited a controversial new sales tax backed by the Takeshita administration. Takeshita, one of 17 politicians implicated in the scandal, acknowledged that the Recruit Co. and its subsidiaries gave about $1 million to his support groups between 1985 and 1987.