Two-thirds of Japan public support new PM Suga-Kyodo poll

TOKYO, Sept 17 (Reuters) - New Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's government was backed by 66.4% of the public, Kyodo news agency said on Thursday, citing the results of its telephone poll conducted on the first two days of his administration.

Suga became Japan's first new prime minister in nearly eight years on Wednesday, pledging to contain COVID-19 and push reforms after retaining about half of predecessor Shinzo Abe's cabinet.

Asked when the lower house of parliament ought to be dissolved for an election, 55.1% of those surveyed said the election should be held shortly ahead of or at the end of its current term, which runs until October 2021.

There has been speculation that Suga could take advantage of strong support, indicated by media polls even before officially taking office, to call a snap election soon to solidify his grip on power.

Seeming to play down the possibility of an early vote, however, Suga said on Wednesday that what Japanese most wanted was to contain the coronavirus outbreak and revive the battered economy.

"This is the first thing I want to work on with my new cabinet," he told reporters. (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Alex Richardson)