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The Kishida Cabinet and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party have both dropped to the lowest levels of popularity since the party returned to power in 2012, an Asahi Shimbun survey showed.

The Cabinet approval rating was 21 percent, according to the nationwide telephone survey conducted on Feb. 17-18, down from 23 percent in the previous survey in January.

The support rate for the LDP slipped from 24 percent to 21 percent over the same period.

The disapproval rating for the Cabinet was 65 percent, down slightly from 66 percent in January, when it was highest for any of the three Cabinets the LDP formed since 2012.

A scandal over unreported political funds among LDP factions has pushed down the approval rating for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet in recent months.

The LDP’s support rating has remained below 30 percent for eight consecutive months since July. The rating first sank below 25 percent in December, when it was 23 percent.

The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan received support from 7 percent of respondents, up from 4 percent in January, while Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) gained 4 percent, down from 6 percent.

The support rating for the LDP’s junior coalition partner, Komeito, was 3 percent, unchanged from the previous month. The rating for the Japanese Communist Party was also 3 percent, compared with 2 percent in January.

The support ratings for Reiwa Shinsengumi, the Democratic Party for the People and the Social Democratic Party were 3 percent, 2 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

Unaffiliated voters—those who said they support no party or who provided no clear answer--accounted for 55 percent, compared with 54 percent in January.

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

Twenty-one percent chose the LDP, down from 25 percent in surveys conducted in January and December.

The question has been included in Asahi Shimbun surveys every month since May. The ratio of respondents who chose the LDP has remained below 30 percent since October.

The CDP was selected by 14 percent, up from 11 percent in January, and Nippon Ishin was also picked by 14 percent, unchanged from the previous month.

Reiwa Shinsengumi was chosen by 6 percent of respondents; Komeito, the JCP and the DPP were each selected by 5 percent; and the SDP was favored by 1 percent.

Four percent of respondents picked Free Education for All, a party of five lawmakers led by veteran politician Seiji Maehara, who bolted from the DPP in December.

The survey was conducted through calls to randomly generated telephone numbers. There were 458 valid responses from voters contacted by fixed telephones, or 50 percent of the total, and 655 responses from those contacted by cellphones, or 38 percent.

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