Abe Cabinet Approval Rate Rises to 41 Pct: Jiji Poll

September 14, 2018

Tokyo- Public support for the cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in September rose 3.2 percentage points from the previous month to 41.7 pct, surpassing the disapproval rate for the first time in seven months, a Jiji Press opinion poll showed Friday.

The support rate exceeded 40 pct for the first time since a February poll.

The disapproval rate dropped 2.3 points to 36.6 pct, according to the poll conducted for four days through Monday.

The survey also showed that 36.7 pct of respondents oppose the Japanese government's plan to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma air station in a congested area of Ginowan in the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa to the Henoko coastal area in Nago, another Okinawa city, compared with 28.4 pct who back the plan, while 34.9 pct said they are not sure.

The planned relocation is the main issue in the Sept. 30 Okinawa gubernatorial election.

Among respondents who back Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, support for the planned relocation stood at 47.9 pct, exceeding the disapproval rate of 26.3 pct.

But among respondents supporting Komeito, the coalition partner of the LDP, the disapproval rate surpassed the support rate by 52.9 pct to 27.5 pct. Opposition exceeded support among supporters of opposition parties including the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Democratic Party for the People.

Asked about their reasons for supporting the Abe cabinet, with multiple answers allowed, 21.0 pct said there is no other person suitable for prime minister, 10.4 pct said they trust him and 9.7 pct said Abe has leadership skills.

Among those disapproving the cabinet, 22.0 pct said they cannot trust Abe, 16.0 pct said they expect nothing from the cabinet and 10.6 pct said they do not support its policies.

The support rate for the LDP came to 26.9 pct, down 0.2 point. The CDPJ received backing from 4.4 pct, down 0.2 point. The support rate stood at 4.1 pct for Komeito, 1.9 pct for the Japanese Communist Party, 0.9 pct for Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) and 0.4 pct for the Democratic Party for the People.

The share of respondents who said they do not support any particular political party was 59.2 pct.

The interview-based poll covered 2,000 people aged 18 or over across Japan. Valid responses were received from 62.0 pct. Jiji Press