Abe's Approval Rating Falls to the 30% Range Even in Conservative Newspaper Polls

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The approval rating of the Abe Shinzo Cabinet was surveyed at the 30% level. It is notable that the conservative-leaning newspaper Sankei's poll also recorded 30%.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 25th, Sankei Shimbun reported that a public opinion poll conducted over two days on the 22nd and 23rd of this month showed the Abe Cabinet's approval rating at 36.2%. This is 8.4 percentage points lower compared to the survey conducted on the 11th and 12th of last month. On the other hand, the percentage of respondents who do not support the cabinet rose by 7.8 percentage points to 46.7%.

This is the first time since July 2018 that the proportion of cabinet supporters fell below that of non-supporters.

The drop in approval ratings appears to be due to the controversy over the privatization of the government-hosted 'Cherry Blossom Viewing Party' combined with criticism of the inadequate response to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

In fact, in this poll, 68.6% of Japanese citizens responded that they do not think the government's information provision is sufficient and accurate. The proportion of respondents who felt anxious about COVID-19 was also high. Regarding whether they feel anxious about COVID-19, 85% of respondents answered either "feel greatly" or "feel to some extent."