TOKYO, Aug 1 (NNN-NHK) – The approval rating for Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida’s cabinet, decreased to its lowest-ever 51.0 percent, compared to a record high of 63.2 percent just weeks ago, a Kyodo News survey showed, yesterday.
According to the result of the two-day nationwide telephone survey, the approval rating this weekend was the Kishida administration’s lowest, since it took office in Oct, 2021.
Among the surveyed, 53.3 percent said they are opposed to the state funeral for former leader, Shinzo Abe, while 61.9 percent said, it is necessary to hold a parliamentary debate on the state funeral.
The sharp decline came, following the Kishida cabinet’s best-ever support in the wake of the ruling coalition parties’ victory, in the House of Councillors election, on Jul 10, and Abe’s shock death after being fatally shot during a Jul 8 campaign stump speech.
However, the government’s decision to hold a state funeral for the former prime minister drew strong criticism from the opposition and the public, who said, there are no legal provisions for holding such a funeral.
The country’s resurgence of COVID-19 infections and surging commodity prices, which led to rising living costs also contributed to the decline in Kishida cabinet’s support rate.
Amid spike in COVID-19 cases, the survey showed 53.3 percent of the respondents support the government’s COVID-19 response, down 7.7 percentage points from the previous poll, conducted on Jul 11-12.
About 63.6 percent said they do not approve of the government’s measures on rising prices, compared to 28.1 percent who approve.
The survey called 509 randomly selected households with eligible voters on landline phones, and 1,877 mobile phone numbers, receiving valid responses from 425 people from households and 625 mobile phone users.
