Japan PM facing lukewarm approval ahead of election

Approval ratings for Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba have fallen ahead of an October 27 general election, one weekend poll showed, with another survey suggesting the ruling coalition could struggle to secure a majority.

Former defence minister Ishiba took office this month after being voted leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has been in power for most of Japan’s post-war history.

Scandals over funding and LDP lawmakers’ ties to the Unification Church, compounded by voter discontent over rising prices, caused the party’s ratings to plummet during the tenure of Ishiba’s predecessor Fumio Kishida.

According to a study conducted on Saturday and Sunday by Kyodo News, 41.4 percent of respondents now approve of Ishiba’s cabinet, down from 42.0 percent one week prior.

According to Kyodo, the most recent survey of about 1,260 respondents had a disapproval rating of 40.4%. The October 12–13 poll has 36.7% of respondents expressing disapproval.

In a different survey conducted over the weekend, the liberal Asahi Shimbun daily showed that 33% of respondents approved of Ishiba’s cabinet, compared to 39% who disapproved.

According to the Asahi, the numbers are worse than those Kishida saw in 2021 prior to his first general election as premier: 42% of voters approved compared to 31% disapproved.

According to the daily, polls suggested that the LDP and Komeito, its junior coalition partner, might lose a majority in the next election.

Although the LDP might not be able to cross the threshold on its own—a possibility that has been reflected in a number of earlier polls by other outlets—Jiji Press noted that its reporting and polling indicated the alliance was likely to hang onto its majority.

The conservative LDP and Komeito, a moderate party backed by a Buddhist-linked group, have been in power since 2012 when late former premier Shinzo Abe won a landslide victory.

“Regardless of whether or not we lose our majority, we should hold positive talks with parties that are trying to develop the country with the same policies,” the LDP’s secretary general Hiroshi Moriyama said in a political debate programme aired by public broadcaster NHK on Sunday.