Japan's Kishida Cabinet Approval Rating at 65%... Highest Since Cabinet Inception

Nihon Keizai and TV Tokyo Survey
65% Up 4%P from Previous Month
LDP Also Overwhelming Support at 43%
"Support for China Olympic Boycott" 68%

▲Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The approval rating of the Kishida Fumio Cabinet in Japan has reached an all-time high since its inception. The Kishida Cabinet, launched last October, has been steadily increasing its approval rating despite the COVID-19 situation, indicating smooth sailing. Amid the global surge of the Omicron variant, the strong COVID-19 response measures by the Kishida Cabinet are credited with driving the approval rating.

According to a joint public opinion poll conducted by Nihon Keizai Shimbun and TV Tokyo from the 24th to the 26th, the approval rating of the Kishida Cabinet stood at 65%. This marks a 4 percentage point increase from the previous month (61%) and is the highest since the cabinet's launch in October (59%). Conversely, the percentage of respondents who do not support the Kishida Cabinet was 26%, down 1 percentage point from the previous month (27%).

The Kishida Cabinet's approval rating was also confirmed to be rising in other major media surveys, such as the Yomiuri Shimbun telephone poll conducted from the 3rd to the 5th, which showed a 6 percentage point increase from the previous month to 62%. This is a stark contrast to the low approval ratings seen immediately after the cabinet's launch, which were the lowest among cabinets in the 2000s.

The rise in the Kishida Cabinet's approval rating is attributed to positive evaluations of its COVID-19 response. Positive assessments of the Japanese government's COVID-19 measures exceeded the majority at 59%. In particular, the policy banning new entries of foreigners to prevent the spread of Omicron received an overwhelming 88% positive evaluation.

Additionally, 65% of respondents considered the interval and target groups for COVID-19 booster shots to be 'appropriate.' Regarding the policy of providing approximately 100,000 yen in COVID-19 support funds to all citizens under 18, which is one of the Kishida Cabinet's COVID-19 measures, 53% evaluated it positively.

The positive evaluation of the Kishida Cabinet also influenced the approval rating of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), to which Prime Minister Kishida belongs. When asked about their preferred political party, 43% of respondents answered the LDP, securing an overwhelming first place. This was followed by Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) at 13% and the Constitutional Democratic Party at 9%.

Regarding policies that Prime Minister Kishida should prioritize, respondents cited economic recovery (41%), pension and healthcare policies (39%), and COVID-19 measures (36%) in that order.

Furthermore, 68% of respondents supported the 'diplomatic boycott' of the Beijing Winter Olympics scheduled for February next year, which involves not dispatching a government delegation. This support far exceeded the 24% who opposed the boycott, more than doubling it. Prime Minister Kishida has stated that he himself will not participate in the Beijing Winter Olympics as part of the diplomatic boycott.

Meanwhile, regarding the Constitutional Democratic Party, which elected Izumi Genta as its new leader on the 30th of last month, 38% expressed expectations while 52% did not. Despite electing the new leader Izumi, the main opposition party recorded a 9% approval rating, trailing behind the Japan Innovation Party, which garnered 13%.

This survey was conducted via telephone among men and women aged 18 and over nationwide, with a total of 947 respondents (42.6%) participating.

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