Photo/Illutration The disapproval rating of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet hit a record high of 60 percent. (Koichi Ueda)

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet approval rating plunged to its lowest level, 29 percent, as voters were largely unimpressed by his package of economic measures, an Asahi Shimbun survey found.

The figure fell from 37 percent in the previous survey in September, when support for the administration slightly rose following a Cabinet reshuffle.

The previous record low rating for the Kishida Cabinet was 31 percent, set in December.

According to the nationwide telephone survey conducted on Oct. 14 and 15, the disapproval rating gained 7 points to 60 percent, marking the fifth consecutive month for it to exceed the approval rating.

The figure is the highest for any prime minister since December 2012, when the Liberal Democratic Party returned to power.

Sixty-nine percent of respondents said they had little hope for the Kishida government’s economic package, which will be announced this month, while 24 percent said they were hopeful about it.

Among the pessimists, the disapproval rating for the Cabinet hit 75 percent.

The survey also found 81 percent supported the government’s decision to seek a court order to dissolve the Unification Church, now formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.

Only 9 percent disagreed with the decision.

However, the action taken against the religious group did little to heighten public support for the Kishida administration.

Even among those who support the dissolution order request, the disapproval rating for the Cabinet was 60 percent.

Many respondents voiced dissatisfaction with Kishida's overall performance during his two years in power.

The survey found 59 percent thought Kishida lacked devotion and commitment to his political goals, while 69 percent said he was unable to clearly communicate his policies to the public.

Sixty-two percent of respondents said they didn’t trust the prime minister, compared with 30 percent who said they did.

The survey also found that 48 percent of voters believe that Kishida should not dissolve the Lower House for a snap election before the end of the year, while 37 percent think he should.

Public opinion is divided on the current law that gives the prime minister the power to dissolve the lower chamber of the Diet at will, with 45 percent supporting the existing system and 46 percent saying there should be some constraint.

Support for Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party was 26 percent, the lowest since the party’s return to power in 2012. It matched the rate recorded in May 2020, during a surge in infections in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The survey also asked respondents which party they would choose in the proportional representation segment if a Lower House election were held now.

Twenty-eight percent picked the LDP, falling below 30 percent for the first time since the question was included in May for the monthly surveys during the Kishida administration.

Among unaffiliated voters, who made up about half of all respondents, the LDP and Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) tied with 15 percent each. About 10 percent said they would vote for the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP).

The survey was conducted through calls to randomly selected telephone numbers. There were 398 valid responses from voters contacted from landlines and 666 from those contacted by cellphone.

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