Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Japan’s Prime Minister SUGA Yoshihide’s dwindling support rate has dropped even further, falling to 31%, while his disapproval ratings shot up by eight points to 59%.

The findings were from a nationwide poll conducted on May 22 by the Mainichi Shimbun and the Social Survey Research Center showed.

These are the worst figures for the Suga administration in the Mainichi’s survey since his administration came to power in September 2020.

Only 13% of those surveyed gave the thumbs up to the Suga administration’s coronavirus countermeasures, compared to 69% who said they did not support them.

Opinions were mixed on the Tokyo Summer Olympics and Paralympics with 40% of those polled calling for the Games to be canceled and 23% wanting a postponement.

As expected, a majority of those polled (59%) wanted the current state of emergency, applied now on only 10 of 47 prefectures, to cover the whole country. Only 12% wanted the emergency lifted to help the economy run smoothly, but 20% of those polled said it would be “reasonable.”

Local reports suggested the government might extend the emergency beyond May 31.