The survey followed an admission by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) in late August that it had hidden the existence of cracks at several of its nuclear reactors over a period of years, partly by falsifying data on safety checks.

In 1999, Japan's worst-ever nuclear accident occured at a plant at Tokaimura, 140 km (90 miles) northeast of Tokyo. It exposed hundreds of residents, plant workers and emergency personnel to radiation and two plant workers died.

Since the TEPCO revelation, several other power firms have said they also failed to report cracks at their nuclear reactors.

The survey also showed that 86 percent of respondents said they were not convinced by the government's explanation that the cracks posed no safety threat.

In an Asahi survey last December, 75 percent of respondents said they were concerned about the possibility of a nuclear accident, the paper said.

The paper did not disclose the number of people surveyed in the latest poll.

Forty-four percent of respondents said they opposed the government's promotion of nuclear energy, while 38 percent said they favoured it as a power source.