Seventy-three percent of voters “disapprove” of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s efforts to address “politics and money,” an issue that led to the party’s recent election setback, an Asahi Shimbun survey showed.

Only 13 percent “approve” of the LDP’s efforts, according to the nationwide telephone survey conducted on Dec. 14 and 15.

The approval rating of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s Cabinet was 36 percent, up slightly from 34 percent in the previous survey conducted on Nov. 2 and 3, shortly after the ruling coalition lost its majority in the Oct. 27 Lower House election.

The disapproval rating was 43 percent, down from 47 percent in the previous survey.

Political reform is the focus of the current extraordinary Diet session, in light of the scandal over unreported political funds that erupted in the LDP before the Lower House election.

Following the coalition’s loss in the election, opposition parties have been pressing the LDP to again revise the Political Fund Control Law to close loopholes and tighten disclosure rules.

But even among LDP supporters, 57 percent “disapprove” of the LDP’s efforts to address the issue, compared with 26 percent who said they “approve.”

When asked if they think political donations by corporations and organizations should be banned, 48 percent of all respondents said “yes,” while 36 percent said there is “no need” for a ban.

Older age groups had a higher proportion of respondents who said such donations “should be banned.”

When asked if they thought that corporate and group donations “distort the policies of political parties,” 61 percent of respondents answered “yes,” while 25 percent answered “no.”

The LDP and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, will continue to be the ruling parties, but they now need cooperation from opposition parties to pass budget bills and other legislation.

When asked what they thought of this political situation, 49 percent of survey respondents said it is “good,” while 31 percent said it is “not good.”

Ishiba’s “method” of answering questions in the Diet involves showing a posture of deliberation, but he often does not provide a conclusion and can be evasive at times.

Fifty-four percent of respondents felt Ishiba’s recent words and actions were insincere, compared with 26 percent who said he seemed “sincere.”

The LDP led all parties with an approval rating of 24 percent, according to the survey.

The opposition Democratic Party for the People had an approval rating of 11 percent, surpassing that of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan for the first time.

The DPP’s approval ratings have ranged from zero percent to 3 percent since its formation. However, it made a breakthrough in the October election, quadrupling its number of Lower House seats.

In the previous post-election survey, the DPP’s approval rating climbed to double digits, 10 percent, and was closing in on the CDP’s 13 percent.

By age group, 28 percent of respondents from 18 to 29 years old supported the DPP, ahead of the LDP (16 percent) and the CDP (11 percent).

One of the DPP’s policies during the election campaign was to raise the “1.03 million yen ($6,700) barrier,” the minimum annual salary level subject to income tax.

Seventy-seven percent of survey respondents were in favor of this policy, while 11 percent were against it.

Among those in favor, the DPP’s support rate was 14 percent, slightly higher than the overall DPP rating.

The survey also asked about the U.S. presidential election, in which Republican Donald Trump defeated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

Forty-six percent of respondents said the result was “not good,” while 34 percent said it was “good.”

When asked how they thought the U.S.-Japan relationship would change after Trump’s inauguration in January, 27 percent said it would “turn for the worse,” 11 percent said it would “turn for the better,” and 52 percent said it would “remain the same.”

The survey was conducted using randomly selected phone numbers of voters across the country.

For landlines, the survey received 420 responses, or 45 percent, from 933 households identified as having a voter.

For cellphones, the survey received 629 responses, or 41 percent, from 1,523 voters contacted.

A total of 1,049 valid responses were received.

(This article was written by Daizo Teramoto and Kazuaki Isoda.)