Japanese cabinet’s approval rating soars to 64 per cent
The cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida enjoys a 64 per cent approval rating, according to a recent nationwide public opinion survey conducted by the Yomiuri Shimbun, marking the third straight increase since an April poll.
The approval rating for the Kishida cabinet has remained high ahead of the House of Councillors election scheduled for next month. Strong support for the cabinet’s handling of diplomatic affairs and the novel coronavirus pandemic and the lack of any major errors are believed to have sustained the cabinet’s ratings.
The disapproval rating in the latest poll conducted from Friday to Sunday stood at 26 per cent, up from 23 per cent in the previous poll conducted from May 13-15.
The Cabinet had a 63 per cent approval rating in the previous poll. The rating in the latest poll is only two percentage points shy of January’s 66 per cent, the highest approval rating since the start of the Kishida cabinet.
In his summit talks with US President Joe Biden, Kishida laid out a stance of dealing strictly with China and Russia in cooperation with the United States, and 74 per cent approved of this.
During the talks, Kishida expressed his resolve for a “substantial increase” in Japan’s defence spending. More than half of the respondents approved of a defence spending increase, with 34 per cent approving of an increase ranging from 1-2 per cent of the gross domestic product and 19 per cent approving of an increase of 2 per cent or higher.
However, more than 40 per cent disapproved of higher defence spending, with 35 per cent responding that defence spending should remain at the current level and 6 per cent calling for a decrease.
With regard to Japan’s defensive capabilities, 72 per cent approved of strengthening them, up by eight points from the April poll in which the same question was asked. This indicates approval for strengthening defensive capabilities is not necessarily linked to approval for a defence spending increase.
The Yomiuri Shimbun used random digit dialling to conduct the poll, calling landline and mobile phone numbers of eligible voters age 18 and older nationwide. The latest poll obtained 1,060 valid responses from 425 landline phone users and 635 mobile phone users.
Asked which party they will vote for in the proportional representation race of the upper house elections scheduled for next month, 45 per cent of respondents said they will vote for the Liberal Democratic Party, up from 44 per cent in the May poll.
The figure is the highest since the January poll when this question was first asked. Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) followed with 9 per cent, down from 10 per cent in May, and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan with 7 per cent, down from 8 per cent in May.
In the June 2019 poll conducted directly prior to the previous upper house elections in July, 40 per cent said they would vote for the LDP, 10 per cent for the CDPJ and 6 per cent for Ishin.
The Japan News
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