Japanese Government's Tax Cut Strategy Fails... Kishida's Approval Rating Hits 33%, 'Lowest Ever'

Nikkei Poll Shows 9%p Drop from Last Month
6 out of 10 Respondents Say 'Tax Cuts Are Not Appropriate'

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet approval rating has hit its lowest point since the administration began. Despite pushing for tax cuts by promising to return the increased tax revenue to the public in an attempt to boost support, more citizens criticized the policy as 'inappropriate.'

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported on the 30th that a telephone survey conducted from the 27th to 29th among 852 men and women aged 18 and older (valid respondents) by TV Tokyo showed the Kishida cabinet approval rating dropped 9 percentage points from the previous survey to 33%.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
Photo by AFP Yonhap News

This is the lowest level since the Kishida cabinet took office. Nikkei stated, "The previous lowest was 35% in December 2022," adding, "An approval rating of 33% is the lowest since the Liberal Democratic Party returned to power in 2012."

At the same time, the percentage of respondents who do not support the Kishida cabinet increased by 8 percentage points to 59%.

The private broadcaster network ANN's public opinion poll conducted on the 28th and 29th also showed the Kishida cabinet approval rating fell by 3.8 percentage points from the previous survey to a record low of 26.9%.

The Kishida cabinet approval rating has continued to decline in major Japanese media polls this month. According to reports, polls by Mainichi Shimbun (25%), Jiji Press (26.3%), and Asahi Shimbun (29%) all showed approval ratings below 30%, while Kyodo News (32.2%), Yomiuri Shimbun (34%), and Sankei Shimbun (35.6%) also recorded low levels.

The top reason for not supporting the cabinet was "policies are not good," at 52%, followed by "lack of leadership" at 34%.

In particular, the Nikkei survey revealed that more than six out of ten respondents did not think the income tax and resident tax cuts, which Prime Minister Kishida is actively promoting, were appropriate, far exceeding the 24% who thought they were appropriate. Although the government announced it was considering a tax cut plan totaling 40,000 yen per person, including 30,000 yen for income tax and 10,000 yen for resident tax, opposition voices were stronger.

Regarding the economic policy the Japanese government will announce on the 2nd of next month, 58% of respondents said they "do not expect" much, which was higher than the 37% who said they "do expect" results.

When asked which policies Prime Minister Kishida should prioritize, respondents most frequently mentioned "measures against inflation," "overall economy," and "childcare, education, and low birthrate countermeasures," revealing widespread dissatisfaction with economic policies overall.

At a press conference on the morning of the same day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno responded to questions about the cabinet approval rating by saying, "We do not get swayed by the numbers in opinion polls, but I think it is important to seriously accept the voices of the people reflected in the surveys." He added, "The Kishida administration will carefully explain government responses and work with full effort to produce results on urgent issues one by one."

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