Ishiba cabinet support rate rises to 37%; most back rice policy shift
The approval rating for Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's cabinet rose to 37.0 percent from 31.7 percent in May, a Kyodo News survey showed Sunday, with most expressing support for a shift away from the government's long-standing policy of curbing rice production.
In the two-day telephone poll conducted from Saturday, 88.5 percent of respondents said they support revising the government's farming policy on the country's staple to boost production, as rice prices remain near record highs amid ongoing shortages. Only 7.6 percent were opposed.
The disapproval rating for the cabinet fell to 48.4 percent from 52.6 percent in the previous May 24-25 survey.
The government has encouraged rice farmers to switch to other crops by offering subsidies, a measure that helped limit competition and stabilize rice prices.
However, with average rice prices recently doubling to record highs, initially triggered by a poor harvest, Ishiba said last week that cabinet members handling the issue would discuss the market situation, and the talks could lead to a production increase to stabilize supply.
The government has released stockpiled rice in an effort to curb the price surge. In its latest move, it decided to sell directly to retailers instead of through auctions, which had failed to bring immediate relief to rice prices.
The poll showed 56.9 percent see the government's response to rising rice prices as insufficient, while 36.6 percent said it was sufficient.
The improvement in the support rating for the cabinet, which hit a record low of 27.4 percent in a May 17-18 survey, comes ahead of the House of Councillors election expected to be held on July 20.
But about 54.9 percent opposed the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's plan to include cash handouts of 20,000 yen in its campaign pledges for the upcoming upper house election, aimed at easing the impact of inflation amid criticism of pork-barrel spending. Meanwhile, 41.2 percent expressed support for the cash disbursements.
For the upcoming upper house election, 25.9 percent said they would vote for the LDP in the proportional representation segment, while 11.5 percent expressed support for the opposition Democratic Party for the People.
Some 9.2 percent said they would vote for the main opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, 5.1 percent for the Japan Innovation Party and 4.3 percent for the anti-establishment Reiwa Shinsengumi in the election.
When asked which party they support, the poll showed 27.7 percent back the LDP, 7.9 percent the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, 10.6 percent the Democratic Party for the People and 4.9 percent the Japan Innovation Party, while 27.6 percent said they "do not support any party."
The nationwide survey called 503 randomly selected households with eligible voters and 3,407 mobile phone numbers, yielding responses from 427 household members and 622 mobile phone users.
© KYODO
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