Arab News Japan

TOKYO: The public approval rating for Japanese Prime Minister ISHIBA Shigeru’s Cabinet has plummeted to its lowest level ever, according to a Jiji Press opinion poll published on Thursday.

The Ishiba Cabinet approval rating plunged 6.2 percentage points from the previous month to 20.8 percent, the poll showed. The disapproval rating jumped even more – 6.6 points to 55.0 percent, the highest since Ishiba took office last October.

The support rate fell below the previous low of 20.9 percent in May after rising slightly to 27.0 percent in June, apparently due to the appointment of KOIZUMI Shinjiro, the son of popular former Prime Minister KOIZUMI Junichiro, as agriculture minister.

Among those who support the Ishiba Cabinet, 8.9 percent of respondents said there was no good alternative candidate to be prime minister, followed by 5.2 percent who said Ishiba is trustworthy and 3.3 percent who said they support the prime minister’s party, the Liberal Democratic Party.

On the negative side, 29.7 percent of those not supporting the Cabinet said they had no hopes for it, 21.9 percent said it lacks leadership and 21.6 percent disapproved of its policies.

Support for the ruling LDP fell 2.5 points to 16.4 percent, while that for the main opposition – the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan – climbed 1.1 points to 5.5 percent.

Rising right-wing party Sanseito came third in support at 4.7 percent, up 2.2 points, followed by the Democratic Party for the People and the LDP’s coalition partner Komeito at 3.1 percent each, Reiwa Shinsengumi at 2.1 percent, the Japanese Communist Party at 1.6 percent, Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) at 1.5 percent, the Conservative Party of Japan at 1.1 percent and the Social Democratic Party at 0.3 percent.

The share of respondents who support no party was 54.9 percent.