Approval Rating at 28%
Collapse of 30% Threshold Seen as a Danger Signal for the Regime
[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's approval rating hit a new all-time low again immediately after the closing of the Tokyo Olympics. The red light has turned on for Prime Minister Suga's plan to leverage the successful hosting of the Olympics to secure re-election.
According to a nationwide telephone survey conducted by Asahi Shimbun on the 7th and 8th (with 1,395 respondents), the approval rating of the Suga Cabinet was 28%, marking its lowest point. This is the first time since the Suga Cabinet took office in September last year that the approval rating has fallen below 30%. The percentage of respondents who do not support the Suga Cabinet was 53%, about twice the number of those who support it.
In Japanese politics, an approval rating below 30% is considered a warning sign that could lead to the collapse of the administration. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who maintained relatively favorable approval ratings during his eight-year tenure, saw his approval rating drop to 29% in May last year and resigned three months later due to health reasons.
Reflecting Prime Minister Suga's historically low approval rating, 60% of respondents said they do not want him to be re-elected. This is more than twice the 25% who support his re-election. Among the Liberal Democratic Party supporters, 44% want him to be re-elected, while 42% do not.
Despite more than half of respondents giving a positive evaluation of the Olympics, this did not translate into support for Prime Minister Suga, leading to assessments that the Olympics had "no effect" on his approval rating. In this survey, 56% responded that the Olympics were "well done," while 32% said "poorly done." Although public opinion, which had been negative about the Olympics, changed significantly, the lack of increase in support for the Suga Cabinet is interpreted as dissatisfaction with the COVID-19 response. Only 23% positively evaluated the government's COVID-19 response, marking the lowest point. Negative evaluations reached 70%.
Regarding Prime Minister Suga's COVID-19 response, 66% said they do not trust it, and 73% said the government's COVID-19 vaccine distribution system was slow. While 32% responded that the "safe and secure Olympics" promised by Suga was "achieved," 54% said it was not.
Regarding the upcoming House of Representatives election this fall, 34% said "the current situation is good," while 37% said "it would be better if the opposition party's seats increase," and 15% said "it would be better if the ruling party's seats increase."
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