TOKYO, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- The approval rating for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet dropped to 26.5 percent, a record low since he took office in October 2021, as a majority opposed tax hikes for defense spending, according to a Jiji Press survey released on Thursday.
The latest public opinion survey found that the Kishida cabinet's approval rating dropped 2.7 percentage points from the previous month to 26.5 percent, below 30 percent for the fourth consecutive month, and that the disapproval rating grew 1.1 points to a record high of 43.6 percent.
A public support rating below 30 percent is commonly viewed as a danger zone for the cabinet.
The result apparently reflected anxiety about Kishida's plans to raise taxes to boost defense spending as well as higher prices, Jiji Press said.
The survey, conducted for four days through Monday, showed that 50.8 percent of respondents opposed the tax increase for defense spending, far higher than 24.7 percent in favor of the plan.
Meanwhile, Kishida's response to the resignation of four cabinet ministers since last October was rated negatively by 56.4 percent of respondents, while only 18.7 percent were in favor.
The interview-based survey for January covered 2,000 people over the age of 18 nationwide. Valid responses came from 60.5 percent.
