No Effect from U.S. Visit... Japanese Kishida's Approval Rating Faces 'Resignation Crisis' at 20% Range

Despite recent achievements such as a state visit to the United States, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet approval rating remains in the 20% range, a level still considered a resignation crisis. The fallout from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's slush fund scandal, which dealt a severe blow to approval ratings, shows little sign of subsiding. In most public opinion polls, a significant number of respondents criticized the disciplinary actions for the slush fund scandal as too lenient.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun on the 22nd, a telephone survey conducted from the 19th to the 21st targeting 1,035 people (valid respondents) showed that the Kishida cabinet's approval rating was 25%, the same level as a month earlier. This monthly survey by the newspaper has recorded cabinet approval ratings in the 20% range for six consecutive months since the slush fund scandal began to surface in November last year.

In this survey, 66% of respondents said they 'do not support' the cabinet. Additionally, 69% of respondents said they 'cannot accept' that only 39 out of 85 lawmakers and politicians involved in the Liberal Democratic Party's 'slush fund scandal' were disciplined. Furthermore, 64% of respondents did not think it was appropriate that Prime Minister Kishida was excluded from the disciplinary actions.

Notably, these results show that despite Prime Minister Kishida's 'achievement' of reaffirming the strong US-Japan alliance during his state visit to the United States from the 8th to the 14th?the first such visit by a Japanese prime minister in nine years?the approval rating did not rebound.

In a telephone survey conducted by the Asahi Shimbun from the 20th to the 21st targeting 1,090 people, the Kishida cabinet's approval rating was only 26%. Although this was an increase from 22% the previous month, it marked the seventh consecutive month in the 20% range. In the Asahi Shimbun survey as well, 66% of respondents said they 'cannot accept' that Prime Minister Kishida was excluded from disciplinary actions. A staggering 92% of respondents evaluated that the details of the slush fund scandal had not been clarified.

During the same period, a survey by the Mainichi Shimbun showed the Kishida cabinet's approval rating at 22%, 5 percentage points higher than the previous month. Seventy-four percent of respondents said the Liberal Democratic Party's disciplinary actions for the slush fund scandal were 'too lenient.' In a public opinion poll conducted by the conservative Sankei Shimbun together with the private broadcaster Fuji News Network (FNN) on the 20th and 21st, the cabinet approval rating was 26.9%, maintaining the 20% range for six months. Fifty-five percent of respondents said they 'cannot accept' the disciplinary actions against the lawmakers involved in the Liberal Democratic Party scandal. Regarding the next House of Representatives election, 52.8% said they 'expect a change of government.'

Meanwhile, the Japanese government stated on the same day that it is natural to express reverence for those who died for the country in relation to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's offering of tribute during the spring festival period at Yasukuni Shrine, where Class A war criminals are enshrined. Since assuming office in 2021, Prime Minister Kishida has not visited Yasukuni Shrine in person but has been offering tributes.