60% of Japanese Citizens Do Not Wish for Prime Minister Suga's Reappointment

Failure in COVID-19 Response and Son's Scandal Shake Political Standing

▲Yoshihide Suga, Prime Minister of Japan [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Nearly half of the Japanese public responded that Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide should step down when the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presidency term ends this September.

In Japan, which adopts a parliamentary cabinet system, the prime minister, who is the head of the administration, is elected by the National Diet, so the leader of the majority party usually serves as prime minister.

Prime Minister Suga, who took office after former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo resigned due to health reasons with about a year left in his term, has a term that lasts until September 30 of this year, which is the remainder of Abe’s term.

Therefore, for Prime Minister Suga to be reappointed, the LDP presidency term must be extended.

According to a telephone survey conducted by Yomiuri Shimbun from the 2nd to the 4th of this month, targeting 1,074 voters nationwide (valid respondents), 47% said they would prefer Prime Minister Suga to serve only until the end of the LDP presidency term in September.

Including the 12% who responded that they want him to step down immediately, about 60% do not wish for Prime Minister Suga’s reappointment.

On the other hand, 14% answered that they want him to serve as long as possible, and 23% said they want him to serve for about one to two more years.

Prime Minister Suga’s political standing has been shaken amid criticism that he has failed to properly respond to the rapidly spreading COVID-19 since taking office, along with a series of scandals involving people close to him, including the hospitality of Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications officials by a satellite broadcasting company where his son worked.

Because of this, with about six months left in Suga’s presidency term, there is reportedly a sentiment within the LDP that the upcoming House of Representatives election, scheduled for October 21, should be held under a new party leadership.

Regarding this, Yomiuri Shimbun reported that the LDP’s second-in-command, Secretary-General Nikai Toshihiro, has already expressed support for Suga’s reappointment as party president, signaling that the movement toward the next party leadership election is gaining momentum. However, at present, no alternative candidate has emerged to challenge Suga, but if mismanagement continues, especially in COVID-19 response, the situation could rapidly shift toward abandoning the “Suga card.”

In this survey, 47% supported the Suga Cabinet, while 40% did not, showing little change compared to a month ago (48% support, 42% opposition).

Suga Cabinet’s approval rating rose to 74% at its launch in September last year according to Yomiuri Shimbun surveys, but plummeted to 39% in January this year.

Yomiuri Shimbun interpreted that although negative responses have exceeded positive ones for two consecutive months, the upward trend in the Suga Cabinet’s approval rating has stalled again, and the recent increase in nationwide new infection cases continues to influence the cabinet’s approval rating.

In this survey, party support rates showed the LDP at 39%, the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party at 5%, and the proportion of undecided voters reached 43%.

This suggests that while the LDP is expected to maintain its majority status in this year’s House of Representatives election, the number of seats each party obtains could vary significantly depending on the choices of undecided voters, which is noteworthy.

Regarding the timing of this year’s House of Representatives election, 64% responded that it should be held at the end of the term without dissolution, hoping that Prime Minister Suga will not exercise the right to dissolve the Diet.

Regarding the current government’s COVID-19 response, 59% evaluated it negatively, and 70% expressed dissatisfaction with Japan’s vaccination status, which lags behind other major countries.

Meanwhile, 83%, an overwhelming majority, responded that it is desirable for the U.S.-Japan relationship to be strengthened as Prime Minister Suga meets with U.S. President Joe Biden on the 16th (U.S. time).

Additionally, 67% supported Japan aligning with the U.S. in raising the level of confrontation with China.

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