2 out of 3 Japanese Support Kishida's Response to Ukraine

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Two out of three Japanese people approve of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's response to the Ukraine war. The approval rating of the Kishida Cabinet also turned upward for the first time in three months, surpassing 60%.

On the 28th, the Nikkei Newspaper released the results of a telephone survey conducted from the 25th to the 27th, targeting 976 Japanese people.

When asked, "How do you evaluate the government's response to Ukraine?" 67% of respondents answered "approve." Notably, bipartisan support was observed. Among ruling party supporters, 76% expressed approval, while 62% of opposition party supporters also approved.

Regarding Japan's sanctions against Russia, 44% responded that they were "appropriate," and 41% said they should be "stronger." Only 7% said the sanctions were "too strict."

When asked whether "Ukrainian refugees should be accepted," 90% of respondents agreed. Only 4% opposed. By political party support, both ruling and opposition parties showed 92% approval respectively.

The approval rating of the Kishida Cabinet recorded 61%. This marked the first upward trend since December last year, rising 6 percentage points compared to the previous month. The Nikkei Newspaper analyzed that "the rise in approval rating is due to the full lifting of COVID-19 emergency measures starting from the 22nd."

In fact, when asked "How do you evaluate the government's response to COVID-19?" 64% responded positively. This is the highest level since the question was first asked in February 2020.