Support rate for Japan’s Kishida cabinet drops to record low: media poll

The support rate for the Japanese cabinet dropped to a record low of 28.3 percent, a survey by national news agency Kyodo showed Sunday.

The latest opinion poll has shown that the approval rating for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s cabinet plunged from 32.3 in the previous poll conducted in October, reaching a record low since Kishida took office in October 2021.

Meanwhile, the disapproval rating has risen to a record high of 56.7 percent from 52.5 percent last month.

The survey also found that 62.5 percent of respondents are unsatisfied with the recently announced income tax cut as part of Kishida’s economic stimulus package, Kyodo reported.

On Thursday, the Japanese government adopted an economic package worth over 17 trillion yen ($113 billion) as part of its efforts to help households hit by rising prices, including a tax cut of 40,000 yen per person and 70,000 yen in payouts to low-income households who are exempt from paying income and residential taxes and would otherwise be left out.

Regarding the ballooning construction costs of the 2025 Osaka Kansai Expo, 68.6 percent of respondents found it “unnecessary.”

The Japanese government said Thursday it has approved the increased estimate of 235 billion yen in construction costs for the 2025 World Exposition in the western Japanese city of Osaka.

The new estimate, which has nearly doubled from the original projection, is to be split equally among the central government, the prefectural and city governments of Osaka and the business community.

The national telephone poll was conducted from Friday to Sunday.