Japanese Media Poll Results from 16-17th... Nihon Keizai "Suga Cabinet Approval Rating 74%"
Third Highest Since Inauguration... 50% Support 'Reconsideration' of Abe's Economic Policies
Majority Opinion Against Hastening Lower House Dissolution
[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The Yoshihide Suga Cabinet in Japan recorded high approval ratings shortly after its launch amid the expectations of the Japanese public. While Prime Minister Suga announced that he would inherit the policies of the former Shinzo Abe Cabinet, there was a strong response that economic policies "need to be reconsidered."
According to opinion polls conducted by Japanese media such as Asahi Shimbun and Nihon Keizai Shimbun targeting Japanese voters on the 16th and 17th, right after the launch of the Suga Cabinet, the approval rating for the Suga Cabinet significantly exceeded 60%, with some surveys showing over 70%. In the Nihon Keizai poll (1,007 respondents), the approval rating was as high as 74%, and Asahi Shimbun reported that 65% supported the Suga Cabinet. Polls conducted by Mainichi Shimbun and others recorded 64%, and the Kyodo News survey showed 66.4%.
Although simple comparisons are difficult due to differences in survey methods, these ratings were higher than the approval ratings immediately after the launch of the second Abe administration. Nihon Keizai reported that, based on the launch period, the approval rating for the Suga Cabinet ranks third historically since 1987, following the Junichiro Koizumi Cabinet in 2001 (80%) and the Yukio Hatoyama Cabinet in 2009 (75.0%).
The most common reason for supporting the Suga Cabinet was "character" at 46%, followed by "sense of stability" at 39%, according to Nihon Keizai. In the Mainichi survey, the most frequent response was "policies seem promising" at 35%, followed by "because it seems to inherit the Abe administration's line" at 30%, and "because of a favorable impression of the prime minister's personality" at 27%.
However, voters showed negative reactions toward inheriting the Abe administration's economic policies. In the Asahi poll, 50% responded that "it is better to reconsider" former Prime Minister Abe's economic policies, which was higher than the 37% who said "it is better to continue." Among those who supported the Suga Cabinet, 42% also expressed a stance to reconsider Abe's economic policies. In the Mainichi survey, when asked about areas where they hoped the Suga administration would differ from the Abe administration, 24% most frequently chose economic policy.
Although a majority of voters mentioned "economic recovery" as a major policy task that Prime Minister Suga should handle, they viewed maintaining Abe's economic policies as undesirable. In surveys conducted by Nihon Keizai and Kyodo News, the proportion of respondents mentioning economic recovery as a challenge for the new cabinet (multiple answers allowed) was 42% and 35.2%, respectively, ranking just behind COVID-19 (58% and 64.1%), which was the top concern.
Regarding the early dissolution of the House of Representatives and general elections, which is a hot topic in Japanese politics, the majority opinion was negative. When asked about the timing of dissolution, 58% in the Nihon Keizai survey said "there is no need to rush until the term expires next fall," and the Asahi survey also showed a preference for "next year" (72%) over "this year" (17%). This is interpreted as a view that holding elections this year is difficult since the COVID-19 situation has not yet been fully resolved.
Nevertheless, when asked which party they would vote for in proportional representation if elections were held now, one in two respondents chose the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). In the Nihon Keizai survey, this ratio was 54%, and in the Kyodo News survey, it was 44.4%. The Asahi survey also showed that 48% would vote for the LDP, a significant increase compared to 37% in January and 35% in July.
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