Approval ratings for the nation’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba have fallen ahead of an Oct 27 general election, one weekend poll showed, with another survey suggesting the ruling coalition could struggle to secure a majority.
Former defence minister Ishiba took office this month after being voted leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has been in power for most of Japan’s post-war history.
Scandals over funding and LDP lawmakers’ ties to the Unification Church – compounded by voter discontent over rising prices – caused the party’s ratings to plummet during the tenure of Ishiba’s predecessor, Fumio Kishida.
A Kyodo News survey on Saturday and Sunday put the current approval rating for Ishiba’s Cabinet at 41.4%, down from 42% a week earlier.
The disapproval rating was 40.4% in the most recent survey of some 1,260 voters, Kyodo said on Sunday.
Disapproval in the Oct12-13 poll was 36.7%.
“This election will be really tough and difficult for us,” Ishiba told voters in a campaign speech last week.
A separate weekend survey by the liberal-leaning Asahi Shimbun newspaper found public support for Ishiba’s Cabinet at 33%, below 39% who disapproved.
Those results are worse than Kishida faced in 2021 ahead of his first general election as premier: 42% approval against 31% disapproval, the Asahi said.
The daily added its polls indicated that the LDP and its junior coalition partner Komeito ran the risk of losing a majority in the upcoming vote.
Jiji Press said its polls and reporting showed the coalition was likely to retain its majority, although the LDP may not pass the threshold on its own – a possibility reflected in several previous polls by other outlets. — AP
