Media poll reveals a decline in support for Japanese cabinet at 28%

TOKYO (Reuters) – The Mainichi Shimbun has reported that support for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s cabinet has declined by nearly 20 percentage points in the past two months, dropping to 28% according to a poll conducted by the newspaper.

Since taking office in October 2021, Kishida’s approval ratings suffered in late last year due to revelations of connections between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Unification Church. However, his numbers began to improve after a thaw in relations with South Korea and a trip to Ukraine in March.

In May, Kishida received a boost when he hosted a G7 leaders’ summit in Hiroshima. However, the cabinet’s support has since plummeted by 17 percentage points, falling below 30% for the first time since February.

A major issue impacting support for the cabinet is technical problems with the national identity card system, as reported by the newspaper.

The survey conducted over the weekend revealed that the number of individuals who disapprove of the cabinet has risen from 58% to 65% in the past month.

Last month, Kishida stated that he is not considering a snap election at the moment. However, there is speculation that he may call for an election towards the end of this year or before the ruling party leadership race next year.

According to some media reports, Kishida is considering a cabinet reshuffle in September to counter the declining trend in the polls.

(Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama)