TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet approval ratings have fallen below 30 per cent in two separate polls, with an unforgiving public looking upon his administration in a bad light.
A poll by Jiji Press last week had his support at 27.4 per cent, down 4.9 percentage points from September. This was even lower than his predecessor Yoshihide Suga's worst ratings of 29.0 per cent in August 2021. Mr Suga resigned a month later.
Another poll in September by Japanese newspaper Mainichi had Mr Kishida's support at 29 per cent. Most other surveys, including by Nikkei newspaper and public broadcaster NHK last week, put support at below 40 per cent.
Experts noted that Mr Kishida's touted strength of his "ability to listen" to ordinary people in his campaign to become leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and then the LDP's triumph in two national elections, has become a double-edged sword.
While this won him support at the start, with Mr Suga described as "wooden" and "out of touch", overwhelming public opinion now is one of how Mr Kishida has all but reneged on this promise.
Dr Toru Yoshida, a political scientist at Doshisha University in Kyoto, told The Straits Times: "This has turned out to be a weak point since he has left the image that he has dismissed popular opinions."
The Asahi newspaper, in an editorial in October, blasted as "hollow" Mr Kishida's promises "to respond sincerely, humbly and scrupulously to harshly critical voices of the public".
First, there was the unpopular state funeral for slain controversial former prime minister Shinzo Abe, which was costly yet decided on by the Cabinet without undergoing parliamentary procedures.
Then there was the lingering fallout over the Unification Church, with Economic Revitalisation Minister Daishiro Yamagiwa, in particular, facing calls to be sacked due to his repeated falsehoods over his ties with the controversial group.
Adding fuel to the fire, Mr Kishida appointed his eldest son Shotaro, 31, as his executive secretary in an apparent bid to groom him as his successor.
This has sparked accusations of nepotism, even though hereditary politics has long been a tradition in Japan, with one in four Diet members legacy politicians.
Dr Sota Kato, a research director at The Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research think-tank, said: "Given the extraordinary rate of hereditary succession in Japanese politics, it is quite normal to have a son as a public secretary.
"But the timing was too bad. Now, Kishida will be criticised for anything. I think he misread the mood in the media and public opinion in giving his eldest son a conspicuous role at this point in time."
The embattled Mr Kishida also faces other pressures. While the Tokyo Olympics did not occur under his watch, the bribery scandals that have ensnared the top echelons of corporate Japan are a stain on the government, Dr Kato said.
Also, the economy has been weighed under by a weak yen that hit a 32-year low last week, inflation that hit a 31-year high in August, and persistently stagnant wages that have left many ordinary Japanese poorer off.
Price hikes have been implemented for over 20,000 food items so far in 2022, according to think-tank Teikoku Databank.
"Many Japanese feel vulnerable to inflation and the rising cost of living. If the government leaves the impression that it is not tackling the problem, approval ratings will stay low," Dr Yoshida said, adding that Mr Kishida has not succeeded in communicating the substance of many of his policies.
Meanwhile, reports said last week that the government was beginning a process that could strip the Unification Church - which has allegedly bankrupted and wrecked families across Japan - of its status as a religious corporation.
This has happened only twice before, first with the Aum Shinrikyo cult that was behind a deadly subway sarin gas attack in 1995, and the Myokakuji temple group for defrauding people into paying large sums for exorcisms.
Whether this will be enough to turn the tide of public opinion remains to be seen, but experts saw no reason for Mr Kishida to rock the boat since no LDP leadership election is due until 2024, and no national election until 2025.
His next major test will likely be the unified municipal elections in April 2023. Both Dr Kato and Dr Yoshida said a disastrous showing then might push Mr Kishida into calling a snap election to reassert his mandate.
