TOKYO (AP) - Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso continued to gain popularity among voters on support for his economic stimulus measures and a political scandal that has dragged down the opposition, a newspaper poll showed Monday.

The Nikkei business daily reported that 32 percent of voters now approve of the Aso administration, up seven percentage points from a similar poll taken a month ago.

Aso’s approval rating plunged after he took office in September, but polls show he has gradually regained support among Japanese voters over the last two months.

The rebound has coincided with a political funding scandal surrounding Ichiro Ozawa, who leads the main opposition party. Ozawa was seen as a strong candidate for prime minister before the scandal broke.

The Nikkei reported that the prime minister also has gotten a boost from his Cabinet’s efforts to revive Japan’s economy. Earlier this month, the prime minister unveiled a 15 trillion yen ($150 billion) stimulus package.

Still, the newspaper reported that 26 percent of those who supported Aso said the main reason was they felt he had a "feeling for international issues."

The prime minister presided over his country’s response to a North Korean rocket launch earlier this month. Japan readied missile interceptors at land and sea, requested an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council to call for a strong response, and renewed and strengthened its own actions against the North.

The poll was conducted via telephone interviews with households nationwide that have eligible voters. It had 866 responses and did not provide a margin of error, though for a poll of that size would generally have a margin of error of about three percentage points.