Japan Cabinet Approval Drops to 41% 2023

According to a recent Yomiuri Shimbun countrywide survey, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet approval rating has plummeted. The poll, conducted Friday to Sunday, revealed a 15-point decline from 56% to 41%, lower than the disapproval rating of 44%, which jumped from 33% in the last poll on May 20-21.

In the last canvass, performed during the G-7 conference in Hiroshima, Cabinet support increased.

Government mistakes with My Number identity cards may have contributed to the approval rating drop.

It was the Cabinet’s greatest percentage point decrease since its establishment and the first dip in seven months. The 15-point drop is the second-largest in recent years, following a survey on Dec. 26-27, 2020, when the Cabinet of then-Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga fell 16 percentage points due to popular dissatisfaction with COVID-19 policies.

The Cabinet’s approval rating fell below the disapproval rating for the first time in three months.

Using random digit dialing, 761 homes and 1,592 mobile phone users were questioned. 1,018 people answered correctly.

24% of respondents believed the government handled My Number card issues well, while 67% disagreed. 55% opposed the government’s plan to eliminate health insurance cards and combine their functionality into My Number cards in fall 2024, compared to 37% who supported it.

37% supported low birth rate initiatives, while 55% did not.

The government hopes to get an additional yearly budget in the mid-$3 trillion level, but 61% of respondents disapproved of the increasing strain on public coffers, significantly higher than the 31% who supported it.

40% of respondents supported Kishida’s decision not to dissolve the House of Representatives during Wednesday’s ordinary Diet session, while 34% did not.

30% of respondents felt the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito should head a coalition government, while 56% disagreed.

40% picked Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) to lead the opposition alliance against the LDP, while 26% chose the CDPJ.

The LDP had 34% approval, down from 38%, and Komeito had 3%, up from 2%. Ishin dropped from 7% to 6%, the CDPJ from 5% to 4%, and the JCP from 3% to 1%.

Reiwa Shinsengumi and Sanseito maintained their 2% and 1% approval ratings, respectively, while the Democratic Party for the People jumped to 2% from 1%. From 37% in the previous survey, 40% claimed they had no party allegiance.