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Abe administration has no effective way to regain public support

The survey results, released Friday, revealed that the approval rating for the Abe cabinet dropped close to the
The survey results, released Friday, revealed that the approval rating for the Abe cabinet dropped close to the "red zone" below 30 percent. (AFP)
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15 Aug 2020 03:08:34 GMT9
15 Aug 2020 03:08:34 GMT9

TOKYO: Key members of the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party were highly alarmed by the approval rating for the Abe cabinet dropping close to the “red zone” below 30 percent.

They see regaining public support as difficult at a time when people’s frustration about the way the government has been handling the coronavirus crisis is heightening.   

“Now we’re in trouble. The administration is being blamed for everything,” a person close to Abe said after looking at the results of a Jiji Press opinion poll for August. 

“All we can do is to get things done with speed. We shouldn’t just be swayed,” the person said.

The survey results, released Friday, showed that the approval rating fell to 32.7 percent, the second lowest after 29.9 percent since the current Abe administration was launched in December 2012.

Senior members of the administration were particularly disappointed that nearly 60 percent of respondents did not support the government’s response to the virus crisis despite the World Health Organization chief’s assessment that Japan is successfully containing the pandemic.

The poll also found that about 90 percent of them oppose the government’s Go To Travel campaign to support the nation’s coronavirus-battered tourism industry.

“The circumstances never allow the House of Representatives to be dissolved for a snap election,” a person close to the LDP said.

“Now is the time to bite the bullet,” an LDP executive noted.

Some ruling party members call for reshuffling the cabinet and party leadership next month for a breakthrough.

But Abe will not be able to make appointments bold enough to change the gloomy situation because he is losing his centripetal force ahead of the expiration of his term as LDP president in September next year, critics said. 

Also behind the drop in the cabinet approval rating would be Abe’s reluctance to give the public explanations about how specifically his administration plans to fight the virus and support the people’s daily lives from now on but he has shown no sign of holding a press conference soon.

On Friday, Abe took a half-day off for the third straight day and showed up at the prime minister’s office an hour behind schedule in the afternoon.

“He looked tired and weak,” an LDP member who once was a cabinet minister said. “We don’t have anything that can change the situation for the better.”

JIJI Press

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