Ishiba Cabinet approval falls to 20.9% in new poll
The public approval rating for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Cabinet dropped to 20.9% in May, marking its lowest level since he took office in October last year, a Jiji Press opinion poll showed Thursday.
The figure fell by 2.2 percentage points from April.
Meanwhile, the disapproval rating rose 1.7 points to 52.9%.
When asked about the ongoing Japan-U.S. negotiations over high U.S. tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump's administration, 27.1% of respondents said they have hopes, while 53.7% gave the opposite answer.
On reasons for supporting the Ishiba Cabinet, with multiple answers allowed, 9.2% of respondents backing it said there is no one else suitable to be prime minister, and 5.4% said Ishiba is trustworthy.
On the other hand, 31.1% of those not backing the Ishiba government said they have no hopes for it, while 21% said Ishiba lacks leadership and 20.9% disapproved of the Cabinet's policies.
The survey also showed that 21.4% of respondents expressed hopes that the government will be led by current opposition parties after this summer's election for the House of Councilors.
The figure was higher than 20% in favor of a continuation of the current coalition government of Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner, Komeito.
Those hoping to see the Democratic Party for the People join forces with the LDP-Komeito coalition accounted for 11.7% of the total.
Meanwhile, 8.9% said they want the ruling coalition to be joined by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and 7.6% hope that Nippon Ishin no Kai will join the ruling camp.
Still, the LDP garnered the biggest support when respondents were asked which party they plan on voting for under the proportional representation system in the Upper House election, standing at 19.7%, down 0.9 points.
Those who named the DPP came to 11.2%, up from 10.6% in April, while the CDP was backed by 9.4%, up from 7.8%.
Meanwhile, 4.4% chose Komeito, 4.1% Nippon Ishin, 3.7% Reiwa Shinsengumi, 2% Sanseito, 1.7% the Japanese Communist Party, 0.9% the Conservative Party of Japan and 0.7% the Social Democratic Party.
The LDP also had the biggest support as a political party in general, with 17.2%, down 0.2 points.
The DPP came second with 5.7%, up 0.3 points, followed by 4.4% for the CDP, up 0.6 points.
Support stood at 3.7% for Komeito, 2.3% for Nippon Ishin, 1.9% for Reiwa Shinsengumi and 0.9% for both the JCP and Sanseito. The Conservative Party of Japan and the SDP marked 0.7% and 0.3%, respectively.
Meanwhile, 58.5% said they do not back any particular party.
The interview survey, conducted over four days through Monday, covered 2,000 people age 18 and older across the country. Valid responses came from 58.8%.
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