Japan Kishida Cabinet Approval Rating at 51%... Lowest Since Inauguration

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] The approval rating of Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet has dropped significantly.

According to Kyodo News, a telephone survey conducted on June 30-31 targeting voters aged 18 and older nationwide revealed that the approval rating of the Kishida cabinet fell sharply by 12.2 percentage points to 51.0% compared to the survey conducted on June 11-12, the agency reported on the 31st.

The approval rating of the Kishida cabinet has dropped to its lowest since its launch in October last year, based on Kyodo News surveys.

The sharp decline in approval ratings is understood to be related to the ongoing division of public opinion in Japan over the decision to hold a "state funeral" for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was fatally shot during a campaign rally for the House of Councillors election on the 8th.

In this survey, opposition to the state funeral decision led by Prime Minister Kishida for former Prime Minister Abe stood at 53.3%, surpassing support at 45.1%.

Earlier, on the 14th, Prime Minister Kishida announced at a press conference that the government-led funeral for former Prime Minister Abe would be held as a state funeral.

Analysts also suggest that dissatisfaction with the Japanese government's high inflation and COVID-19 measures contributed to the decline in the Kishida cabinet's approval rating.

Negative evaluations of the high inflation measures reached 63.6%, greatly exceeding positive evaluations at 28.1%.