Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda faces a tough fight to push through his highly charged tax hike plan as the majority of Japanese are opposed to the rise, according to latest opinion polls.

Analysts believe the plan is necessary if Japan is to get a handle on its towering debt, which presently stands at around 200 percent of GDP.

But 79.5 percent of the Japanese are opposed to Noda's plan to double the five percent consumption tax without the government's effort to cut costs, Kyodo News agency said.

The polls were conducted by media after Noda reshuffled his cabinet on Friday as he looks to rescue plans to raise the sales tax and chip away at the country's mountain of debt.

Asked what must be the priorities for the reshuffled cabinet, 43.7 percent cited administrative and fiscal reforms by such means as cracking down on wasteful use of tax money, Kyodo said.

The leading Yomiuri Shimbun daily also reported 55 percent of the Japanese are opposed to the tax hike plan, while 39 percent support it.

Another leading newspaper, the Asahi Shimbun, said 57 percent of the respondents were against the government raising the sales tax.

The approval rating for Noda's reshuffled cabinet, in which political heavyweight Katsuya Okada was brought in as deputy prime minister, was down by five points to 37 percent from last month, the Yomiuri said.

The Asahi survey showed the support rate for the new cabinet lineup stood at 29 percent, two points down from last month.