Japan PM Kishida’s support tanks to new low after replacing scandal-hit cabinet
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
Approval of Japanese PM Fumio Kishida's cabinet slumped by 5 percentage points from last month to 16 per cent.
PHOTO: REUTERS
TOKYO – Support for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida fell to fresh lows in polls taken after he reshuffled his cabinet to contain a funding scandal that threatens the future of his government.
A survey by the Mainichi Shimbun from Dec 16-17 found approval of his cabinet slumped by 5 percentage points from last month to 16 per cent, the lowest since he took office in October 2021. His disapproval rate rose to 79 per cent, the highest since the newspaper started conducting such polls more than seven decades ago.
A separate Nikkei survey found support dropped 4 percentage points to 26 per cent, a level often seen as the danger zone for Japanese premiers.
The polls suggest pressure will remain on Mr Kishida after he replaced four ministers last week who are among lawmakers accused of concealing income generated from fundraising events. The scandal has rocked the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and fuelled speculation that it may consider changing its leader before his term ends in September.
About 67 per cent of respondents to the Nikkei poll said Mr Kishida is responsible for the political funding issue, while 28 per cent disagreed.
Tokyo prosecutors have started voluntary questioning of lawmakers suspected of involvement in the slush fund at an LDP faction, local media including Asahi Shimbun reported. The money is estimated to have amounted to ¥500 million (S$4.69 million) over the past five years, according to the report.
The scandal is also hurting the party. While the LDP traditionally dominates Japanese politics and has retained higher support rates than any of the opposition parties, its approval rating dropped to 26 per cent, the lowest since Mr Kishida took office, according to a separate Kyodo poll.
Still, the next general election doesn’t need to be held until 2025.
Mr Kishida’s popularity has also been hurt by data breaches surrounding national “My Number” identification cards and concerns over the funding of record defence spending in the budget. Bloomberg
