The approval rating for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet remained low at 33.6%, while the disapproval rating reached 50% for the first time since December, a Kyodo News poll showed Sunday, amid lingering public concerns over the national identification card system and inflation.
The support rate has declined in recent months and is now only a tad higher than the lowest level since Kishida took office in October 2021, which was 33.1% in November and December 2022. In the previous poll in mid-July, the figure was 34.3%.
According to the two-day nationwide telephone survey conducted through Sunday, 79.8% of the respondents lacked confidence in Kishida’s leadership in addressing public anxiety over the My Number identification card system, which has faced a series of personal information leaks and registration errors.
A total of 88.1% were also concerned over the potential economic damage stemming from a government plan to discharge treated radioactive water from the disaster-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power complex into the sea.
The government is in the final stage of deciding when to start the release, with the end of the month eyed, while concerns linger among fishermen that the move could affect their businesses. China has also been strongly opposed to the discharge.
As inflation continues to weigh on households in Japan, 75.3% called for subsidies to curb the impact of a surge in gasoline prices to continue beyond the end of September when the government plans to end it.