60159    Hata received a favorable rating of 4% among lower house members, coming in third.

60160    Mr. Yohei Kono, President of the LDP, the largest party, received only 3%; his favorable rating is at a single-digit low level, 8%, even in his home ground of the LDP.

60161    Although he is the president of the dominant ruling party, there is a prevailing view that it will be difficult for him to win the premiership.

60162    In the questionnaire, twelve other names were mentioned, including International Trade and Industry Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, former Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Michio Watanabe, and LDP Vice President Keizo Obuchi.

60163    On the other hand, those who did not give any name, including those who answered "I don't know," accounted for as much as 36%, which clearly showed that many lower house members had the idea, "It is impossible to predict one year ahead," in today's fluxing political situation, with three different prime ministers in one year.

60164    The questionnaire also asked the lower house members to give the names of the party leaders and cadre toward whom they have a favorable opinion.

60165    Mr. Hata outpolled Mr. Kaifu by 25% in the NFP, 65% to 40%

60166    The survey unveiled a remarkable tendency that Mr. Ozawa's favorable rating was considerably high in the NFP, but extremely low in the ruling parties.

60167    It is considered inescapable that the new Congress led by the Republican Party, starting on January 4th, will assert a tough line against Russia and place strong pressure on the Clinton administration.

60168    President Clinton is expected to compromise with the Republic Party in diplomacy, in addition to his preceding policy shift in its favor following the defeat in the midterm election, with further confrontation between the U.S. and Russia being projected.

60169    The most important issue on the agenda regarding U.S.-Russia relations is the expansion of NATO, which has been focused since last autumn, and about which conservatives and liberals argued bitterly at the end of last year in U.S. newspapers.

60170    It has been revealed that leading Republicans plan to demand tough measures be taken against Russia by the Clinton administration.

60171    The Washington Post carried an essay by former Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, insisting, "The expansion of NATO is an urgent task."

60172    The former Secretary of State commented in the essay, "Unless NATO expands to embrace the four East European countries including Poland and Hungary, a vacant area will be formed between Germany and Russia, which will lead to severer confrontation between the two, due to each country's moves to occupy this area for security reasons."

60173    He then appealed for immediate admission of the four nations to NATO, along with concluding a treaty with Russia, clarifying that foreign armies will not be stationed in the four new NATO members to make Russia feel at ease.