A poll result has shown that the approval rating of the cabinet led by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has dropped to its lowest level since its inception.
According to the Mainichi Shimbun on the 20th, a survey conducted on the 18th to 19th with 2042 individuals (based on valid respondents) recorded an approval rating of 28% for Ishiba's cabinet.
This is the first time the approval rating has fallen below 30%. In Japan, it is generally assessed that an approval rating below 30% indicates a 'crisis of resignation.'
In the monthly poll conducted by this newspaper, the approval rating for Ishiba's cabinet was 46% right after its launch in October of last year, but it dropped to 31% in November and 30% in December, further declining this month.
A poll conducted by Asahi Shimbun on the 18th to 19th with 1103 individuals also showed an approval rating of 33% for Ishiba's cabinet, a decrease of 3 percentage points from the previous month. In the monthly survey conducted by this newspaper, the approval rating was 46% following its launch in October of last year, recording 34% in November and 36% in December.
The declining approval rating for Ishiba's cabinet was also confirmed by a poll conducted by Sankei Shimbun in collaboration with Fuji News Network (FNN) targeting 1005 individuals on the 18th to 19th. In this survey, the cabinet's approval rating was 43.5%, down 2.4 percentage points from the previous month. Sankei noted that the percentage of respondents who do not support the cabinet has been higher than the approval rating for three consecutive months since November of last year.
Meanwhile, in a survey conducted by Yomiuri Shimbun from the 17th to 19th with 1015 individuals, Ishiba's cabinet approval rating stood at 40%, showing no significant difference compared to the 39% from the previous month's survey. However, in the Yomiuri poll, when asked whether they believe Prime Minister Ishiba can exercise leadership in governing in a divided government, 64% responded negatively with 'no,' significantly outpacing the 'yes' response at 24%. Additionally, when asked if they think Prime Minister Ishiba can establish a trusting relationship with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, 66% replied 'no,' while 23% said 'yes.'