Despite Surge in COVID-19 Cases, Kishida Cabinet's Approval Rating Rises in Japan

▲Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Amid a rapid surge in COVID-19 cases in Japan, the approval rating of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet is notably maintaining an upward trend.

According to a telephone poll conducted by Yomiuri Shimbun from the 14th to the 16th targeting Japanese voters, 66% of respondents said they support the Kishida cabinet.

This figure is a 4 percentage point increase compared to the survey conducted from the 3rd to the 5th of last month, marking the highest level since the Kishida cabinet took office in early October last year.

On the other hand, 22% of respondents said they do not support the Kishida cabinet, the same as last month.

In a survey conducted by NHK from the 8th to the 10th of this month, the cabinet approval rating was recorded at 57%, up 7 percentage points from a month earlier.

The rise in the cabinet’s approval rating despite the recent rapid increase in COVID-19 cases in Japan has drawn attention.

According to NHK’s tally, the number of new COVID-19 cases in Japan reached 25,658 on the previous day, approaching the record high of 25,992 set on August 20 last year.

Over the past week until the 16th, the average daily increase in cases was 16,906.

Compared to the weekly average daily cases of about 141 on the 16th of last month, the speed of infection spread has accelerated approximately 120 times in just one month.

This contrasts sharply with former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, whose approval rating plummeted amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.

In a Yomiuri Shimbun poll conducted from August 7 to 9 last year, the Suga cabinet’s approval rating was 35%, the lowest since its inception at that time.

It is presumed that voters still generally view the Japanese government’s response as not bad overall.

In this survey, when asked about their opinion on the Japanese government’s response to COVID-19, 52% evaluated it positively, while 41% gave a negative evaluation.

However, it is uncertain whether this attitude among Japanese voters will be maintained.

In this poll, 60% of respondents said that the Japanese government bears significant responsibility for the spread of COVID-19 centered around U.S. military bases in Japan.