Since the defeat in last month's House of Councilors election, voices are growing within Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to resign, while about half of Japanese people believe the prime minister does not need to step down.
According to a poll conducted by Japanese private broadcaster JNN, which surveyed 1,003 people from 2nd to 3rd, 47% of respondents stated that there is "no need for resignation" regarding Prime Minister Ishiba's stepping down. Those who responded "should resign" accounted for 43%.
Support for the Ishiba Cabinet has also slightly increased. This month, support for the Ishiba Cabinet rose by 4.0 percentage points to 36.8% compared to the previous month. Those who replied "do not support" decreased by 3.1 percentage points to 60.5%.
Positive evaluations of the current government's tariff negotiation results with the United States stood out. After the House of Councilors election, 50% positively evaluated the tariff negotiation agreement Japan reached with the U.S., while 33% said they "do not evaluate" it.
Regarding the reasons for the Liberal Democratic Party's defeat in the House of Councilors election, 46% of respondents chose "because the Liberal Democratic Party is not dependable," followed by ▲ "because they cannot expect the Ishiba administration" (20%) and ▲ "because they expect other parties" (15%).
Among the candidates for the next prime minister, support for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who led the decline in rice prices, was the highest at 20.4%. Prime Minister Ishiba's support was 11.1%, ranking third after lawmaker Sanae Takaiuchi (16.7%), who is supported by some conservatives within the Liberal Democratic Party.