TOKYO: Support for Prime Minister ISHIBA Shigeru’s Cabinet edged up to 24 percent in a weekend public opinion poll conducted by the Mainichi Shimbun, the second month in a row the figure has remained under 25 percent.

The approval rating was up slightly from the 23 percent recorded during the previous survey conducted on March 15 and 16. The Cabinet disapproval rate in the poll dropped three percentage points from the previous survey to stand at 61percent.

Since its poor showing in the October 2024 House of Representatives election, in which the ruling parties lost their majority in the chamber, the Ishiba Cabinet has been forced to make concessions to opposition parties as a minority government. 

In March, Ishiba’s government came under fire after it emerged that his office had presented 15 newly elected Liberal Democratic Party legislators with gift vouchers worth 100,000 yen (about $700) each when they dined at the prime minister’s office.

Respondents were randomly selected from around 70 million people aged 18 and above across the country, and valid responses were obtained from 2,040 people.