Mainichi survey shows Kishida cabinet approval rating at 16%
“The issue of political funding by the Liberal Democratic Party faction has a significant impact.”
As the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office’s investigation into political funding by a faction of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party hit the cabinet of Fumio Kishida, the cabinet’s approval rating plummeted to 10% in some opinion polls. The response rate that Prime Minister Kishida should quit his position as prime minister early also approached 60%.
According to a public opinion poll (16th-17th) published by the Asahi Shimbun on the 18th, the Kishida Cabinet’s approval rating was 23%, down 2 percentage points from the previous month. It was the lowest since the cabinet was launched. It was the lowest since the Liberal Democratic Party regained power in December 2012.
As the Tokyo District Prosecutors’ Office’s investigation expanded, Prime Minister Kishida virtually dismissed all four cabinet members from the Abe faction who were suspected of slush funds on the 14th and replaced them with new faces. Nevertheless, Asahi analyzed, “There are no signs of an increase in approval ratings.”
When asked whether they evaluated Prime Minister Kishida’s response to the slush fund suspicions, 74% responded that they “do not evaluate it (positively).” “Evaluate” was only 16%.
In particular, 58% of respondents said they would like Prime Minister Kishida to quit his job early, which is more than the majority. Only 28% responded positively, saying, “I hope it continues.”
However, public opinion did not show much expectation from the opposition party.
Only 15% said they “can count on” the current opposition party as a force to oppose the Liberal Democratic Party. 78% said they had “no expectations”.
The newspaper explained, “It has been revealed that even though suspicions of bribery from the Liberal Democratic Party faction have surfaced and there are even calls within the ruling party for Prime Minister (Kishida) to resign, the opposition party’s long-awaited talk has not occurred at all.” The Liberal Democratic Party’s approval rating was 23%, down 4 percentage points from the previous month.
In the Mainichi Shimbun’s opinion poll conducted on the 16th and 17th, the Kishida cabinet’s approval rating plummeted to 16%, down 5 percentage points from the previous poll (November 18th and 19th).
Although simple comparisons cannot be made due to different survey methods, it is close to the lowest approval rating of 15% in August 2011 under Naoto Kan’s cabinet under the Democratic Party administration.
The negative response of “I do not support” reached 79%, up 5 percentage points from the previous month. It was the highest since July 1947, when the Mainichi began surveying cabinet approval ratings.
The approval rating for the Liberal Democratic Party also fell by 7 percentage points to 17%. Although the survey method is different, it has reached a new low since the Liberal Democratic Party returned to power. The newspaper interpreted, “This appears to have been greatly influenced by the issue of political funding from the Liberal Democratic Party faction.”
81% of respondents said they “think the slush fund suspicion is important” in Japanese politics. “I don’t think it’s important” was 13%.
Regarding Prime Minister Kishida’s replacement of four cabinet members, including former Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, who belonged to the Abe faction, opinions were divided with 43% each saying it was “reasonable” and “insufficient.”
54% said they had “no expectations” of the new Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, exceeding 27% who “had expectations”.
82% of respondents said they “do not think Prime Minister Kishida can provide leadership in strengthening regulations on political funds”, well above the 9% who “think he can provide leadership”.
In a public opinion poll conducted by the Yomiuri Shimbun on the 15th to 17th, the Kishida cabinet’s approval rating was 25%, up 1 percentage point from the previous month. “Prime Minister Kishida has reshuffled his personnel due to allegations of defunding of political funds by the Abe faction of the Liberal Democratic Party, but his approval rating continues to slump,” the newspaper explained.
The negative response that they did not support the Kishida cabinet was 63%, up 1 percentage point from the previous month.
19% of respondents said they “think” Prime Minister Kishida is demonstrating leadership in a series of issues surrounding political funds. “I don’t think about it” was 73%.
59% of people thought that Prime Minister Kishida was largely responsible for the replacement of four Abe-affiliated cabinet members. “I don’t think about it” was 32%.
In a public opinion poll conducted by Kyodo News on the 16th and 17th, the Kishida cabinet’s approval rating was 22.3%, a record low. Approval ratings have fallen for three consecutive months. The response “I do not support” was 65.4%, the highest ever.
The Liberal Democratic Party’s approval rating was 26.0%, the first time it was in the 20% range since the Liberal Democratic Party regained power in a Kyodo survey.
A total of 77.2% of negative responses, such as “nothing” or “not much” about the Liberal Democratic Party’s ability to correct itself surrounding the suspicion of defunding, amounted to 77.2%. 86.8% of respondents said that strengthening regulations such as the Political Fund Regulation Act is “necessary.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.