Half of Japanese Citizens Say "Prime Minister Kishida Should Be Replaced in September"... Approval Rating Only 28%

More than half of the Japanese public want Prime Minister Kishida Fumio to step down around the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership election scheduled for September. One in four respondents said they want him to resign immediately. The approval rating of the Kishida Cabinet remains stuck in the 20% range, a level considered a 'resignation crisis.'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to a public opinion poll released on the 29th by Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) and TV Tokyo, 55% of respondents said they want Prime Minister Kishida to step down after completing his term in September. In Japan's parliamentary system, the ruling LDP leadership election, which effectively decides the next prime minister, is scheduled to be held in September.

Opinions that Kishida should be 'immediately replaced' also reached 25%. In total, 80% of respondents want a prime minister change either immediately or by September. Only 13% expressed the view that Kishida should remain 'as long as possible,' including re-election. Nikkei reported, "In the June survey, 56% of respondents also said 'by September,' exceeding half," adding that "strict public evaluation of Prime Minister Kishida continues."

Regarding when Prime Minister Kishida should dissolve the House of Representatives (lower house), 33% said 'by autumn,' the largest share. Including 16% who said 'by the end of the year,' about half (49%) of respondents want a dissolution within the year.

In this survey, the approval rating of the Kishida Cabinet was 28%. Although this was a 3 percentage point increase from the previous survey in June, it still remained in the 20% range. The percentage of respondents who do not support the Kishida Cabinet dropped by 3 percentage points to 64% compared to the previous survey.

The main reason for not supporting the Kishida Cabinet was 'poor government or party management,' accounting for 35%. This was followed by 'lack of leadership (32%)' and 'poor policies (32%).' On the other hand, reasons for supporting the Kishida Cabinet included 'trustworthy character (29%),' 'because it is an LDP-centered cabinet (27%),' and 'international sensibility (22%).'

As for the next LDP leader, called the 'post-Kishida,' former LDP Secretary-General Ishiba Shigeru (24%) and former Environment Minister Koizumi Shinjiro (15%) were mentioned. Ishiba’s support rate was 20% even among LDP supporters, ranking first. Prime Minister Kishida ranked fifth overall (6%) and fourth among LDP supporters (12%).

Party support rates showed the LDP at 32%, followed by the Constitutional Democratic Party at 10%, Nippon Ishin no Kai at 6%, and non-affiliated voters at 35%. This public opinion poll was conducted by telephone from the 26th to the 28th, targeting men and women aged 18 and over nationwide.