Japan PM Shigeru Ishiba facing lukewarm approval ahead of election

TOKYO – Approval ratings for Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba have fallen ahead of an Oct 27 general election, one weekend poll showed, with another survey suggesting the ruling coalition could struggle to secure a majority.

Former defence minister Ishiba took office in October

after being voted leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has been in power for most of Japan’s post-war history.

Scandals over funding

and LDP lawmakers’ ties to the Unification Church, compounded by voter discontent over rising prices, caused the party’s ratings to plummet during the tenure of Mr Ishiba’s predecessor Fumio Kishida.

A Kyodo News survey on Oct 19 and Oct 20 put the current approval rating for Mr Ishiba’s Cabinet at 41.4 per cent, down from 42 per cent a week earlier.

The disapproval rating was 40.4 per cent in the most recent survey of some 1,260 voters, Kyodo said on Oct 20. Disapproval in the Oct 12 to 13 poll was 36.7 per cent.

“This election will be really tough and difficult for us,” Mr Ishiba told voters in a campaign speech last week.

A separate weekend survey by the liberal-leaning Asahi Shimbun newspaper found public support for Mr Ishiba’s Cabinet at 33 per cent, below 39 per cent who disapproved.

Those results are worse than what Mr Kishida faced in 2021 ahead of his first general election as premier: 42 per cent approval against 31 per cent disapproval, the Asahi said.

The daily said its polls indicated that the LDP and its junior coalition partner Komeito ran the risk of losing a majority in the upcoming vote.

Jiji Press said its polls and reporting showed the coalition was likely to retain its majority, although the LDP may not pass the threshold on its own – a possibility reflected in several previous polls by other outlets.

The conservative LDP and Komeito, a moderate party backed by a Buddhist-linked group, have been in power since 2012 when late former premier Shinzo Abe won a landslide victory.

If the LDP loses its majority, it would be the first time since 2009, when the party was beaten in a general election by the more left-wing opposition.

“Regardless of whether or not we lose our majority, we should hold positive talks with parties that are trying to develop the country with the same policies,” LDP secretary-general Hiroshi Moriyama said in a political debate programme aired by public broadcaster NHK on Oct 20. AFP