Takaichi's approval rating falls below 50% for the first time... “No alternative” cited as reason for support

【Financial News, Tokyo—Correspondent Seo Hye-jin】 As the Sanae Takaichi Cabinet approaches its first anniversary, its approval rating has fallen below 50% for the first time, according to a Kyodo News poll. Criticism mounted over the delayed response surrounding the agriculture minister’s dismissal and measures to tackle high prices. The share of respondents who said they supported the Cabinet because of its policies fell, while passive support on the grounds that “there is no alternative” increased.
According to Japanese media reports on the 19th, the Takaichi Cabinet’s approval rating was 49.1% in a nationwide telephone poll conducted by Kyodo News on the 17th and 18th, its lowest level since taking office.
In an Asahi Shimbun poll conducted over the same period, the figure was 50%, down 1 percentage point (p) from the previous poll in September. A Yomiuri Shimbun poll conducted on the 16th through the 18th put it at 57%, down 2 percentage points from the previous poll.
The poll was conducted just after former agriculture, forestry and fisheries minister Kazuo Yana was effectively dismissed on the 14th.
Yana caused a controversy by saying he had “drastically cut” road budgets for local governments whose mayors or town heads had not supported him in the House of Representatives election. Prime Minister Takaichi initially intended to keep him in office, but changed course after suspicions of a violation of the Public Offices Election Act also emerged.
Kyodo News found that 81.5% of respondents, and Yomiuri 82%, said Yana’s resignation was warranted. In the Kyodo News poll, 57.7% said his dismissal had come “too late,” more than twice the 25.7% who said it was “appropriate.” In the Asahi poll, too, negative assessments of the prime minister’s response, at 52%, exceeded positive ones, at 39%.
However, criticism of the minister did not lead to a withdrawal of support for the Cabinet. In the Asahi poll, even among those who said Yana’s remarks about cutting road budgets were a problem, support for the Cabinet stood at 48%, higher than the 38% who did not support it. 72% said Yana’s resignation had “not changed” their image of the prime minister.
In the Yomiuri poll, the share of respondents who said the prime minister bore significant responsibility was the same as the share who said she did not: 46% each.
Asahi said the LDP’s core support base and personal favorability toward the prime minister were propping up the Cabinet’s approval rating. Since the Cabinet took office, its approval rating among LDP supporters has remained between 80% and 93%. In this poll, 55% said they felt favorably toward the prime minister’s words and actions.
However, the reasons for supporting the Cabinet have shifted compared with the early days after it took office. In the Asahi poll, the share who cited “policies” fell from 25% when the Cabinet was launched to 12% this time, less than half. By contrast, “because it seems likely to be better than other administrations” rose from 21% to 24%, making it the most common reason.
In the Yomiuri poll, too, “because there is no other suitable candidate” ranked first among reasons for support, at 32%. In the Asahi poll, support for each opposition party stood at just 0% to 4%.
Dissatisfaction with the response to high prices stood out among policy areas. In the Asahi poll, the share who rated the prime minister’s response to rising prices positively fell from 44% last November to 29% this time. Negative assessments stood at 59%.
The Yomiuri poll showed similar results, with 29% rating the response positively and 61% negatively.
Expectations for future economic policy, however, remained. In the Yomiuri poll, positive assessments of “responsible proactive fiscal policy,” which prioritizes economic growth, stood at 59%, keeping the figure around 60% following 61% in the previous poll. 56% also supported a bill to cut the consumption tax rate on food from 8% to 1% for two years starting next April. The Cabinet’s approval rating among supporters of the bill was 71%, 30 percentage points higher than the 41% among opponents.
Despite public support for tax cuts, concerns about the fiscal burden remained strong. In the Kyodo News poll, 65.1% of all respondents said they were concerned about the fiscal impact of tax cuts. In the Yomiuri poll, 58% said lowering the consumption tax rate could make it difficult to maintain the social security system; even among supporters of the tax-cut bill, 47% expressed the same concern. In the Asahi poll, 75% said the sources of funding needed for tax cuts and cash payments should be presented in concrete terms during deliberations on the bill.

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