Arab News Japan

TOKYO: The approval rating of Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio’s Cabinet plunged to just 14 percent in a Mainichi Shimbun national opinion poll conducted on February 17 and 18.

That was a fall of seven points from the month before and was the lowest since Kishida took office. The disapproval rate rose to 82 percent, an increase of 10 points from the previous survey.

Although survey methods vary, the Cabinet’s approval rating of 14 percent is the lowest since the 11 percent rating of the ASO Taro Cabinet in February 2009.

This is also the first time that the disapproval rate has exceeded 80 percent since July 1947 when the Mainichi Shimbun first asked about the Cabinet’s approval rating in an opinion poll.

Kishida’s approval rating has been on a downward trend since June last year due to a series of troubles surrounding the MyNumber Card, which is like a social security card.

Although the Prime Minister carried out a Cabinet reshuffle in September, this did not lead to a rise in his approval ratings.

Since November, the issue of slush funds surrounding the Liberal Democratic Party has become more serious.