Japan's Suga Cabinet Approval Rating Drops to 30% Range... Lowest Since Inauguration

Recorded 50% 'Do Not Support'

Photo by Yomiuri Shimbun

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] The approval rating of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's cabinet, which has been heavily criticized for its inadequate response to COVID-19, has fallen to an all-time low among the Japanese public.

According to a telephone survey conducted by Yomiuri Shimbun from the 4th to the 6th of this month, targeting 1,070 voters nationwide and reported on the 7th, the approval rating of the Suga cabinet stood at 37%, marking the lowest point since its launch in September last year.

This represents a 6 percentage point drop from last month's survey result of 43%. Compared to the 74% approval rating recorded in the survey conducted immediately after the Suga cabinet's inauguration in September last year, the approval rating has been halved in just nine months.

The newspaper emphasized that the Suga cabinet's approval rating broke the previous trend of fluctuating in proportion to the increase or decrease in new COVID-19 cases, as the approval rating fell despite a decline in infections.

This suggests that a growing number of Japanese citizens are turning their backs on Prime Minister Suga regardless of the COVID-19 situation.

In fact, when asked how long they want Prime Minister Suga to remain in office, 16% of respondents said they want an "immediate replacement," which is a 4 percentage point increase compared to the survey in April.

Additionally, 43% of respondents said they want him to remain only until the end of his term as the Liberal Democratic Party president in September this year, indicating that about 60% of all voters hope Prime Minister Suga will step down by the House of Representatives election scheduled before October this year.

Meanwhile, in this survey, 50% of respondents expressed the opinion that the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics should be held either without spectators (26%) or with limited spectators (24%).

Opinions favoring the "cancellation" of the Olympics stood at 48%, with public support for conditional hosting narrowly leading.

This contrasts with last month's Asahi Shimbun poll, where over 80% opposed holding the games this summer, with 43% advocating "cancellation" and 40% calling for a "postponement."