Support for Japan's Takaichi eases after sharp drop; Nikkei at 62%, Asahi at 53%

[Financial News Tokyo = Correspondent Seo Hye-jin] Approval for the Takaichi Cabinet has stopped falling, recovering from the shock of a sharp drop last month. The improvement reflects a better assessment of its inflation response after the decision to cut the food consumption tax, as well as the return of some independent voters. However, doubts remain over the effects of the tax cut and how it will be funded.
In a poll conducted by Nihon Keizai Shimbun and TV Tokyo Corporation from Oct. 28 to 30 and released on the 31st, support for the Takaichi Cabinet rose 4 percentage points from the previous month to 62%. The disapproval rate fell 5 points to 32%. After plunging from 68% in June to 58% in July, approval recovered to the 60% range within a month.
Support among independents jumped 11 points, from 36% to 47%, leading the rebound. Approval among respondents aged 39 and younger, as well as those in their 40s and 50s, stood at 71% each. Among people 60 and older, it was 53%, while LDP supporters registered 89%.
In a poll by The Asahi Shimbun conducted on Oct. 29 and 30, approval and disapproval were unchanged from the previous month at 53% and 33%, respectively. In the Asahi survey as well, approval had fallen sharply from 60% in June to 53% in July, but it avoided any further decline. The share of respondents who viewed Takaichi's inflation response positively rose from 29% to 34%, while negative assessments fell from 57% to 51%.
On Takaichi's handling of Yasukuni Shrine, the most common view was that avoiding an in-person visit was the right choice. In the Nikkei poll, 37% said it was appropriate for Takaichi to make a remote offering to Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15, the anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II. Another 32% said she should have visited in person, while 18% said she should not have made even a remote offering.
Among LDP supporters, 52% said the remote offering was appropriate. Among independents, 31% said she should have visited in person, slightly more than the 29% who said the offering was appropriate. Takaichi, who had visited Yasukuni Shrine several times before taking office, chose a remote offering instead of an in-person visit on this year's surrender anniversary.
The food tax cut that helped support approval ratings has also emerged as a source of concern over funding and effectiveness. The Japanese government plans to lower the consumption tax rate on food from 8% to 1% for two years starting in April next year and provide cash payments to middle- and low-income households. In the Nikkei poll, 50% gave the government's plan a positive assessment, while 55% in the Asahi poll supported the tax cut.
However, in both polls, 64% said the tax cut could hurt social security. In the Asahi survey, 77% said the government should clearly present how it will finance the cut.
In the Nikkei poll, 76% said the government had not sufficiently explained the plan to local governments, the restaurant industry, and farmers. If 1.76 percentage points of the 8% food tax is reduced as a local tax share, local finances and public services could shrink. Restaurants could become less competitive against takeout food, which would also benefit from the lower rate, while farmers could see profitability worsen because input tax credits would remain unchanged. In response, the Japanese government and the ruling party plan to include measures next month in the annual tax reform outline to offset lost local revenue and support affected industries.

[email protected] Seo Hye-jin Reporter