[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] While the majority of the Japanese public positively evaluated the government's emergency declaration to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), they also felt that the timing of the declaration was too late.
According to a rapid telephone opinion poll conducted by Mainichi Shimbun on the 8th, the day the emergency declaration took effect, targeting 2,190 adults (valid respondents), 72% of respondents said they "evaluate" the emergency declaration. In Japan, "evaluate" means viewing it positively. On the other hand, 20% responded that they "do not evaluate" it, and 7% answered "do not know."
However, regarding the timing of the emergency declaration, 70% responded that it was "too late." Mainichi Shimbun analyzed that many people believe the government should respond more swiftly to the COVID-19 situation. Concerning the seven prefectures including Tokyo and Osaka, 58% responded that the emergency declaration should be expanded further. Regarding whether the emergency declaration will be lifted on the scheduled end date of the 6th of next month, 77% had a negative outlook.
Regarding the Japanese government led by Shinzo Abe pushing forward an emergency economic measure worth a total of 108 trillion yen (approximately 121 billion USD) to respond to COVID-19, negative responses predicting it would be ineffective accounted for 38%, surpassing positive responses at 32%. Additionally, concerning the decision to provide 300,000 yen in cash support to households whose income has decreased beyond a certain standard, 46% responded that it was "insufficient," while 22% said it was "appropriate."
In this survey, 44% of respondents said they "support" the Abe cabinet, while 42% said they "do not support," showing a close split.
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