Abe Cabinet’s approval rate falls to 38.4% : Jiji poll

April 13, 2018

Tokyo- The approval rate of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet in April fell 0.9 percentage point from the previous month to 38.4 percent, according to the results of a Jiji Press public opinion poll released on Friday.

The cabinet approval rate continued falling amid a spate of scandals including the Ministry of Finance's manipulation of documents related to a controversial state land sale to private school operator Moritomo Gakuen and the Defense Ministry's suspected cover-up of Ground Self-Defense Force overseas mission reports.

The disapproval rate rose 2.2 points to 42.6 percent, above the support rate for the second straight month.

The April poll, conducted for four days through Monday, preceded the revelation this week of a new document related to a cronyism scandal involving Kake Educational Institution, a school operator headed by an old friend of Abe.

In the document, Tadao Yanase, then executive secretary to the prime minister, is quoted as saying in 2015 that the Kake group's plan to open the country's first new veterinary school in decades was "the prime minister's matter."

Last month, the cabinet approval plunged 9.4 points, following the revelation of the MOF document manipulation.

In the April poll, 2,000 people aged 18 or over were interviewed across the country, with 63.4 percent of them giving valid responses.

Over the Moritomo scandal, linked to Abe's wife, Akie, who had once been appointed honorary principle of the group's planned elementary school, 78.3 percent of the respondents, up 10 points, said they were "unconvinced" by the prime minister's denials of his influence behind the shady land deal. Only 11 percent said they were "convinced."

Parliamentary testimony by Akie Abe, demanded by opposition parties, was viewed as "necessary" by 54.2 percent and "not necessary" by 32 percent.

As reasons for supporting the Abe cabinet, meanwhile, 18.9 percent cited the absence of politicians suitable for the prime minister's post other than him, 9.8 percent said they trust the prime minister, and 9.6 percent praised his leadership ability.

On reasons for disapproving of the cabinet, 27.9 percent said Abe is not trustworthy, 17.9 percent said they expect nothing from his cabinet, and 13.3 percent expressed opposition to its policies.

Also in the Jiji Press poll, the support rate of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party edged up 0.1 point to 25.3 percent, followed by the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, with 5.1 percent, down 0.2 point.

Komeito, the LDP's junior coalition partner, was supported by 3.9 percent, the Japanese Communist Party by 2.4 percent, Nippon Ishin no Kai by 1.0 percent, the Democratic Party by 0.7 percent and the Party of Hope by 0.4 percent.

Respondents backing no political party accounted for 58.3 percent. Jiji Press