Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters the prime minister’s office building on Oct. 3. (Takeshi Iwashita)

The approval rating for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s Cabinet was 46 percent, the second lowest for a newly inaugurated administration since 2001, when The Asahi Shimbun began its current survey method.

The figure is just above the 45 percent support rating given to the Fumio Kishida Cabinet after it was formed.

The Ishiba Cabinet’s disapproval rating of 30 percent is second only to the 36 percent seen at the start of the Taro Aso Cabinet.

In August, when Kishida announced that he would step down, his Cabinet’s approval rating was 23 percent.

The Ishiba Cabinet was inaugurated on Oct. 1. The Asahi Shimbun conducted a nationwide telephone survey on Oct. 1 and Oct. 2.

Thirty-seven percent of men disapproved of the new Cabinet, compared with 24 percent of women, according to the survey.

Approval was relatively low among those aged 18 to 29, at 33 percent, and among those in their 40s, at 34 percent.

Support for the Cabinet among unaffiliated voters was divided, with 35 percent in favor and 32 percent disapproving.

In terms of party preference, 36 percent of all respondents said they would choose the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in the proportional representation segment if a Lower House election was held now.

This was followed by: 16 percent for the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan; 9 percent for Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party); 5 percent for ruling coalition partner Komeito; 4 percent for the Democratic Party for the People; 3 percent for the Japanese Communist Party; and 2 percent each for Reiwa Shinsengumi and Sanseito (political participation party).

The LDP’s support rate, which had hovered in the 20 to 29 percent range from October last year to July, recovered to 32 percent in August and 37 percent in September.

But the latest figure of 36 percent indicates a slight stagnation.

After the Kishida Cabinet was inaugurated just before the October 2021 Lower House election, the LDP’s support rate stood at 41 percent.

The CDP’s support rate at the time was 13 percent, while Nippon Ishin’s was 6 percent.

Despite the LDP leadership election to replace Kishida, there appears to be little sense of renewal of the party among voters.

Sixty-four percent of all respondents said their impression of the LDP remained unchanged after Ishiba became prime minister.

Sixteen percent said their impression of the party improved, while 12 percent said it worsened.

Even among LDP supporters, only 21 percent said their impression of the party improved, while 13 percent said it worsened.

As for Ishiba’s economic policies, 35 percent of respondents were hopeful, compared with 47 percent who were not.

Among those who were skeptical of his economic policies, 25 percent approved of his Cabinet.

This may be due to the “Ishiba shock,” in which stock prices declined after his surprise victory in the LDP presidential election.

Following the Kishida Cabinet’s inauguration, 42 percent of respondents expressed hope about his economic policies, a figure higher than that for Ishiba.

The survey contacted fixed telephone numbers and mobile phone numbers selected at random by computer between the evening of Oct. 1 and the night of Oct. 2.

It received 497 valid responses, or 54 percent, from fixed phone numbers of 916 households with at least one eligible voter each.

There were 681 valid responses, or 40 percent, from mobile phone numbers of 1,706 eligible voters. Valid responses totaled 1,178.

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