Half of Japanese Citizens Do Not Support Prime Minister Kishida... Negative Opinion Surpasses Positive for the First Time

51% Oppose State Funeral for Former Prime Minister Abe

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] For the first time since the cabinet's inauguration, public opinion opposing Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has surpassed support. The decline in approval ratings is analyzed to be influenced by suspicions involving politicians from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church), as well as controversies surrounding the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

On the 5th, JNN, a network of private broadcasters in Japan, conducted a survey of 2,446 people nationwide. The approval rating for the Kishida Cabinet was recorded at 48.1%, down 9.4 percentage points from the previous month. Conversely, the proportion of respondents who do not support the Kishida Cabinet rose by 9.0 percentage points to 48.3%. JNN stated that this is the first time since the cabinet's inauguration in October last year that opposition responses have exceeded support responses.

The Yomiuri Shimbun's public opinion poll also revealed an unfavorable response toward the Kishida Cabinet. According to a survey conducted from the 2nd to the 4th among 1,585 adults nationwide, the approval rating for the Kishida Cabinet remained steady at 50%, down 1 percentage point from the previous month. However, the percentage of respondents who do not support the cabinet reached 41%, surpassing the 40% mark for the first time since the survey began. This represents a 7 percentage point increase from the previous month.

Regarding the implementation of the state funeral for former Prime Minister Abe, who died from a gunshot attack, opposition opinion (51%) surpassed support (38%).

Public opinion also showed critical responses concerning suspicions that the LDP and the Unification Church have a close relationship. In this survey, only 9% of respondents believed that the LDP is taking responsibility by sufficiently explaining the Unification Church controversy. Meanwhile, 75% of respondents believed that LDP lawmakers would be unable to sever ties with organizations related to the Unification Church.

The continuous decline in approval ratings for the Kishida Cabinet since its inauguration last October appears to be significantly influenced by the Unification Church controversy and the noise generated during the process of implementing former Prime Minister Abe's state funeral. Yomiuri stated, "The LDP plans to announce survey results denying any connection with the Unification Church to recover its approval ratings, but there is a high possibility that public criticism will spread. The high opposition to the state funeral also shows that the public does not understand Prime Minister Kishida's explanations."