Japan Kishida Cabinet Approval Rating Hits 25% 'Lowest'... 69% of Citizens Oppose Tax Hikes for Defense Budget Funding

Mainichi Newspaper Opinion Poll Announcement

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] A public opinion poll revealed that the approval rating of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet has dropped to 25%, the lowest since the administration took office.

According to the Mainichi Shimbun, which conducted a nationwide survey on the 17th and 18th, the approval rating of the Kishida cabinet fell to 25%, a 6 percentage point decrease from 31% in the previous survey (November), marking the lowest since the government was formed.

The percentage of people who do not support the Kishida cabinet rose to 69%, up 7 percentage points from 62%, reaching the highest level since its inception.

Regarding the government's policy to significantly increase defense spending, 48% were in favor, surpassing the 41% who opposed it. On the issue of raising taxes to fund the increased defense budget, 23% supported it, while 69% opposed it by a large margin. When it came to reducing other policy expenses such as social security costs to secure funding, 20% were in favor, and 73% opposed. For issuing government bonds as a funding source, 33% supported it, and 52% opposed.

Regarding the government equipping itself with counterattack capabilities targeting missile launch sites of adversaries, 59% were in favor, while 27% opposed.