Japan Kishida Cabinet Approval Rating Declines Since May... Impact of COVID-19 and Abe State Funeral Decision

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
[Photo by Reuters]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The approval rating of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet is showing a downward trend. This decline is attributed to dissatisfaction with COVID-19 measures and growing opposition to the state funeral decision for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported on the 31st that a public opinion survey conducted from the 29th to 31st of last month among 985 voters aged 18 and older showed the cabinet approval rating at 58%, down 2 percentage points from the previous month. The Kishida cabinet's approval rating is the second lowest since its launch in October last year, following February, and has been declining since May.

On the same day, a Kyodo News poll revealed that the Kishida cabinet's approval rating dropped sharply by 12.2 percentage points to 51.0% compared to the survey conducted on July 11-12. According to Kyodo News, this is the lowest approval rating since the Kishida cabinet took office.

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun analyzed that the decline in cabinet approval ratings appears to be influenced by the resurgence of COVID-19. The percentage of people who positively evaluated the Japanese government's COVID-19 measures fell from 63% in June to 56% in July, while those who evaluated them negatively increased by 6 percentage points to 36%. Among respondents who negatively evaluated the government's COVID-19 measures, the cabinet approval rating was 37%, 21 percentage points lower than the overall average. When asked which policy the Kishida cabinet should prioritize, 35% of respondents answered "COVID-19 measures."

As Japan's daily new COVID-19 cases approach 200,000 amid the resurgence, Prime Minister Kishida stated regarding the consideration of lowering the classification of COVID-19 from level 2?which requires full reporting under the current five-level Infectious Disease Law?"We are not thinking of making changes at this timing when infections are spreading, but we will continue to review it while listening to experts' opinions."

The survey also showed that opposition to the state funeral for former Prime Minister Abe, who was shot and killed during the Upper House election campaign on the 8th, outnumbered support. In the Nihon Keizai Shimbun poll, 47% of respondents opposed the state funeral, surpassing the 43% who supported it. Similarly, the Kyodo News poll showed 53.3% opposed the state funeral, exceeding the 45.1% in favor.

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. The Japanese government officially decided on the 22nd at a cabinet meeting to hold the state funeral on September 27 at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. Although there was caution within the government and ruling party regarding the state funeral, which is fully funded by the government budget, it is reported that Prime Minister Kishida pushed the decision forward.