September 16, 2022

The latest Jiji Press opinion poll showed that the approval rating of Prime Minister Kishida Fumio’s Cabinet is in free fall.

According to the survey conducted between September 9 and September 12, the approval rate decreased by 12 points from the previous survey last month to 32.3%, hitting the lowest level since the inauguration of the Kishida administration in October 2021. On the other hand, the disapproval rate increased to 40.0%, up 11.5 points compared to that in the previous survey.

In the same survey, 51.9% of the respondents were opposed to the planned state funeral for former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, while 25.3% were in support.

Asked about PM Kishida’s handling of the issue of the Liberal Democratic Party’s link with the Moonies (former Unification Church), 62.7% gave low marks, which far outnumbered the 12.4% who gave high marks. In response to a question whether explanations regarding their ties to the Moonies by PM Kishida and LDP lawmakers are acceptable, only 5.5% said “yes” and 74.2% said “no”.

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on September 15, when asked about a comment from the press corps in the Diet building, said, “I can see a surge of public indignation behind the record-low approval rating for the Kishida Cabinet.”

As a major factor in the plummeting support rate, Shii pointed out that PM Kishida maintains his decision to forcibly hold ex-PM Abe’s state funeral as planned in violation of the Constitution. He went on to state that although the deep connection between the LDP and the Moonies has been revealed, PM Kishida shows no intent to probe into the matter. Furthermore, Shii pointed out that PM Kishida fails to take effective measures to deal with the pandemic and the serious negative impacts of the ongoing price surge on people’s livelihoods.

Shii said that as demanded by the opposition parties, PM Kishida should convene an extraordinary Diet session without delay and hold in-depth discussions on the pressing domestic problems facing Japan.

Past related article:
> 5 opposition parties jointly call for extra Diet session to be convened [August 19, 2022]