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The disapproval rating for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet hit a record high, but opposition parties again have failed to capitalize on the administration’s unpopularity, an Asahi Shimbun survey showed.

The Cabinet disapproval rating was 67 percent, up from 65 percent in February and the highest figure since Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party returned to power in 2012, according to the nationwide telephone survey conducted on March 16-17.

The approval rating for the Kishida Cabinet was 22 percent, up slightly from its record low of 21 percent in the previous month.

Similarly, the support rate for the ruling party was 22 percent, up from 21 percent in February.

Support for the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan dipped from 7 percent to 6 percent, while the rate of 4 percent remained unchanged for Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party).

The support rates for the LDP’s junior coalition partner, Komeito, and the Japanese Communist Party also stayed flat, both at 3 percent.

Reiwa Shinsengumi received 4 percent support, up from 3 percent, while the support rate for the Democratic Party for the People was 1 percent, down from 2 percent.

Unaffiliated voters accounted for 56 percent of all respondents, compared with 55 percent in February.

A scandal over unreported political funds among LDP factions has pushed down the Cabinet’s approval rating in recent months.

The latest survey found that 81 percent, down from 83 percent, disapproved of Kishida’s response to the slush funds scandal, while 13 percent, up from 10 percent, approved of it.

Kishida on Feb. 29 became the first sitting prime minister to attend an open session of a Diet ethics panel, which was investigating the scandal.

However, the surprise move appeared to have little effect on buoying support. The prime minister and other LDP politicians at the panel failed to shed light on the scandal.

Public dissatisfaction with leaders of the LDP factions involved in the scandal remains high. Ninety percent of respondents say the faction leaders have not fulfilled their accountability for the unreported political funds, compared with only 3 percent who believe they have.

These figures have not changed since last month.

In addition, 65 percent of respondents said former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori should be summoned before the Diet to answer questions regarding the LDP faction he once led, while 26 percent said he did not need to be summoned.

The faction was later headed by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and has been called the Abe faction even after he was killed in July 2022.

The Abe faction, tied to the largest amount of unreported political funds in the party, disbanded last month.

LDP faction members have said the money, gained through ticket sales to fund-raising parties, was not taxable because it was used as policy activity expenses.

The survey found that 91 percent of respondents were dissatisfied with this justification, while only 5 percent said they were satisfied.

Earlier this month, two LDP lawmakers resigned as directors of the party’s Youth Division following reports of an event in Wakayama in November that featured scantily clad female dancers.

Eighty percent of survey respondents said the event was “very” or “rather” inappropriate, compared with 18 percent who said it was OK.

The survey using randomly generated phone numbers yielded 1,065 valid responses, including 451 on landlines and 614 on mobile phones. The valid response rates were 48 percent for landlines and 39 percent for mobile phones.

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