46% don’t support Kishida Cabinet, opinion poll shows

For the rst time since Fumio Kishida became prime minister on Oct. 4, 2021, more people disapprove than approve of his administration, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun poll. e disapproval rating for the Kishida Cabinet was 46%, just ahead of the approval rating at 45%, the nationwide poll conducted over the weekend showed.

is was the rst time his approval rating dropped under 50%.

Compared to the approval rating of preceding prime ministers’ cabinets, however, the 45% the Kishida Cabinet garnered is not particularly low.

It’s likely that behind the fall in support stand the public’s severe criticism of the relations politicians, mainly from Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party, have or have had with the group widely known as the Uni cation Church; in ation; and the holding of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s state funeral.

e Kishida Cabinet’s approval rating dropped ve percentage points from the previous poll on Sept. 2-4 and was 20 percentage points lower than the 65% marked in the July poll conducted just a er the LDP emerged victorious from the House of Councillor’s election.

e disapproval rating was at its highest since Kishida became prime minister, up ve percentage points from the previous poll.

Only 41% of the people polled said it was good that the state funeral was held, while 54% said it was not. In the previous poll, 38% approved the decision to hold the state funeral, showing that even a er it was held views on the event had not improved.

As for politicians’ connection with the religious group o cially called the Family Federation for World Peace and Uni cation, 80% of respondents said they did not think Kishida was showing leadership over the issue. Even among LDP supporters, 71% felt the same way.

As for in ation, 73% said that they did not appreciate how the government has been handling the situation.

Asked how long respondents want Kishida to stay in o ce, 39% replied until September 2024, when his term as LDP president expires, while 15% answered they want him to remain as long as possible, down six percentage points from the August poll conducted a er the reshufing of the Cabinet.

When asked which party they supported, 40% of respondents said the LDP, 5% said the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, and 37% said they did not support any party. ese were all the same percentages recorded in the previous poll.

Meanwhile, the survey showed that 71% of respondents were in favor of

Japan strengthening its defense capabilities, far more than the 21% who were opposed to any measures.

In similar polling conducted both by telephone and mail since 2017, support for defense increases has remained in the 60-70% range.

When those who answered “in favor” of increased defense were asked about how to fund the measures, 43% of respondents answered “issuing government bonds,” the most popular choice, followed by 30% who answered “cutting other budgets such as social security” and 20% answering “raising taxes.”

Across three age groups, slightly over 40% of all respondents chose “issuing government bonds” as the best funding method.

However, the results for “cutting other budgets, such as social security,” depended on the age of the respondents: 38% of those aged 18-39 selected this option, 28% of those aged 40-59, and 24% of those aged 60 and older.

At the government’s expert panel to comprehensively discuss the increase of national defense capabilities, one of the points of contention is the nancial resources required.

e latest poll was conducted Saturday and Sunday by calling 701 landlines and 1,668 mobile phones through random digit dialing. All respondents had to be eligible voters and a total of 1,089 respondents gave valid answers, with 411 on landlines and 678 on mobile phones. (Oct. 4)