Due to Delayed COVID-19 Response and Prosecutors' Office Act Controversy... Abe's Approval Rating Drops from 41% to 33%

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The approval rating of the Abe Shinzo Japanese Cabinet has sharply declined. Criticism of the response to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) situation is high, and growing public opposition to the amendment of the Public Prosecutor's Office Act is also having an impact.

In a telephone poll conducted by Asahi Shimbun from the 16th to 17th targeting Japanese voters, the approval rating of the Abe Cabinet recorded 33%, down 8 percentage points from the survey conducted on the 18th to 19th of last month. In this survey, the percentage of respondents who do not support the Abe Cabinet rose by 6 percentage points to 47%, which is 14 percentage points higher than those who support it.

The approval rating this time is the third lowest level in Asahi Shimbun's surveys since Prime Minister Abe's reappointment in December 2012. During the surveys in March and April 2018, when public opinion worsened due to corruption allegations surrounding Moritomo Gakuen and Kake Gakuen, the Abe Cabinet's approval rating was 31%.

The decline in the Cabinet's approval rating is presumed to be influenced by the Abe administration's push to amend the Public Prosecutor's Office Act. The amendment bill includes provisions allowing the Cabinet to extend the retirement age of prosecutors general or chief prosecutors (equivalent to Prosecutor General) by up to three years if approved by the Cabinet. This amendment is criticized as an attempt to undermine the neutrality of the prosecution.

In the Asahi poll, 64% opposed the amendment bill, more than four times the 15% who supported it. Although Prime Minister Abe stated that "there is no possibility of political interference in prosecutorial personnel appointments," 68% of respondents said they could not believe this.

Regarding this, Yomiuri Shimbun reported that as public opinion worsens against the amendment bill and the Cabinet's approval rating plummets, there is a rising proposal within the Abe administration to postpone the bill's vote in this regular Diet session. The ruling party had planned to pass the bill in the House of Representatives plenary session this week, but the newspaper reported that concerns are growing that "holding a vote without sufficient public understanding will leave a problem."

Meanwhile, dissatisfaction with COVID-19 measures remains. 57% of respondents reacted that Prime Minister Abe did not demonstrate leadership to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Only 30% responded that he showed leadership. Regarding the lifting of the state of emergency in 39 prefectures nationwide on the 14th of this month, 51% evaluated it positively, while 32% evaluated it negatively.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.