TOKYO, July 6 (Xinhuanet) -- The disapproval rate for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's cabinet stands at 45.5 percent, exceeding the approval rate of 42.6 percent for the first time in seven months, a Kyodo News survey showed Wednesday.

    The survey was conducted shortly after the passage of the postal reform bills in the lower house on Tuesday.

    The disapproval rate for the cabinet rose 7.8 percentage pointsfrom the previous survey in June, while the support dropped by 3.9 points.

    According to the survey, the number of people who stand for theprivatization bills stands at 42.2 percent, while that of those who oppose the plan at 42.3 percent.

    The bills cleared the House of Representatives 233 over 228, with a considerable number of Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) members turning against him.

    In a previous survey in May, those who favored the plan totaled47.4 percent, exceeding those who did not by 14.1 points.

    However, the LDP stayed top with the most support from those surveyed, gaining 3.4 points from June to 37.7 percent. It was followed by the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan (19.9 percent), picking up 3.5 points. Enditem