Despite Japan's New Cabinet Launch... 7 out of 10 People "Do Not Expect Political Trust to Recover"

The approval rating of the newly launched Japanese cabinet led by Ishida Shigeru last week barely exceeded 50%. In particular, 7 out of 10 Japanese citizens predicted that political trust would not be restored despite the new cabinet's launch, due to issues such as the slush fund scandal. Ahead of the House of Representatives election at the end of this month, ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) President and Prime Minister Ishida, along with opposition party leaders, are scheduled to participate in an 80-minute party leader debate on the 9th.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to a public opinion poll released by Japan's JNN on the 7th, the approval rating of the Ishida cabinet immediately after its launch was 51.6%. The disapproval rate was 43.5%. JNN reported that although it is difficult to make uniform comparisons due to changes in polling methods, this figure is the second lowest among early-stage government approval ratings since the Koizumi cabinet in 2001, following the Aso cabinet in 2008. The survey was conducted nationwide from the 5th to 6th, targeting 2,339 voters aged 18 and over (with 1,019 valid responses).

Among respondents who supported the Ishida cabinet in this survey, the most common reason was "because they can expect from Prime Minister Ishida" (15%). On the other hand, among those who did not support the Ishida cabinet, 24% cited "because it is a cabinet centered on the LDP," and 23% said "cannot expect policies."

When asked whether they believed the LDP could restore political trust lost due to issues such as the Unification Church problem and the slush fund scandal through the launch of the Ishida cabinet, 72% of respondents answered "do not think so." Regarding the LDP fielding candidates involved in the slush fund scandal in the upcoming House of Representatives election on the 27th, 75% said they "cannot understand" this decision. Even among LDP supporters, 65% expressed that they "cannot understand" this.

Regarding the desirable form of government after the House of Representatives election, 49% favored "maintaining an LDP-centered government," while 37% preferred "changing to a government other than the LDP." When asked which party they planned to vote for in the proportional representation segment of the House of Representatives election, "LDP" was the highest at 35.6%, followed by "Constitutional Democratic Party" at 18.8%, and "unsure" at 17%. Party support rates were LDP 33.9%, Constitutional Democratic Party 11.7%, Ishin Party 3.9%, Komeito 2.2%, Communist Party 2.0%, and People's Party 1.5%. Regarding Noda Yoshihiko, the leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party who took office last month, 43% expressed "expectation," while 48% said "no expectation."

Prime Minister Ishida has begun damage control by deciding to exclude some candidates involved in the slush fund scandal from nominations after controversy intensified over their candidacies in the upcoming House of Representatives election at the end of this month. The Mainichi Shimbun reported that at least six lawmakers meet the nomination exclusion criteria proposed by Prime Minister Ishida, among whom five are former Abe faction members. Yomiuri Shimbun and Asahi Shimbun also analyzed that at least six lawmakers will be excluded from nominations.

Ruling LDP President and Prime Minister Ishida, and Constitutional Democratic Party leader Noda Yoshihiko, will also participate in an 80-minute party leader debate at the Diet this week. LDP member Ishii Junichi, Chairman of the House of Councillors Policy Committee, and Constitutional Democratic Party member Saito Yoshitaka, Chairman of the House of Representatives Policy Committee, agreed during a meeting to hold the party leader debate from 1 p.m. on the 9th.

This party leader debate, the first since the launch of the Ishida cabinet, was extended significantly beyond the usual 45 minutes due to opposition party demands for sufficient time. Initially, the LDP proposed within one hour, but the Constitutional Democratic Party rejected it as too short, and after further negotiations, it was finalized at 80 minutes. Earlier, on June 6, Prime Minister Ishida mentioned on his blog regarding the party leader debate that "at least two hours should be allocated for total questioning time." .