Approval rating for Japan PM Kishida sinks to new low

Tokyo: The approval rating for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet has dropped to a new record low of 21.3 per cent this month, a new poll revealed.

The poll conducted by Jiji Press from November 10 to 13 said the support rate fell 5.0 percentage points from 26.3 per cent in October, while the disapproval rate climbed 7.0 points to 53.3 per cent, the highest figure for the Kishida cabinet, reports Xinhua news agency

Among those disapproving of the government, 31.8 per cent said they hold no hopes for the cabinet, 27.3 per cent said its policies are bad and 20.0 per cent said they cannot trust the prime minister.

The public support rate stood below 30 per cent, a key threshold commonly viewed as a danger zone for the cabinet, for the fourth straight month, Jiji Press said.

The figure was also the lowest for an administration led by the Liberal Democratic Party since the party retook control of the Japanese government in December 2012, it added.

Earlier this month, a Kyodo News survey revealed that the support rate for Kishida's cabinet had dropped to 28.3 per cent, plunging from 32.3 in the previous poll conducted in October, reaching a record low since Kishida took office in October 2021.

The survey had found that 62.5 per cent of respondents were unsatisfied with the recently announced income tax cut as part of Kishida's economic stimulus package.

On November 2, the Japanese government adopted an economic package worth over 17 trillion yen ($113 billion) as part of its efforts to help households hit by rising prices, including a tax cut of 40,000 yen per person and 70,000 yen in payouts to low-income households who are exempt from paying income and residential taxes and would otherwise be left out.