Ishiba most popular pick as next PM.: Jiji poll

August 11, 2017

TOKYO- Former Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba is the most popular pick among the public as a politician deemed preferable to become Japan's next prime minister, a Jiji Press poll has found.

Fully 18.0 percent of the respondents chose Ishiba, followed by incumbent Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with 14.4 percent support. Ishiba rose from third in the previous survey conducted in November last year, ousting Abe from the top slot.

Abe's strength has been eroded amid growing public frustration with his administration mainly over alleged favoritism toward Kake Educational Institution's new university faculty plan. The university operator is headed by a friend of Abe.

The Jiji survey found LDP Chief Deputy Secretary-General Shinjiro Koizumi was third, chosen by 13.1 percent, followed by LDP Policy Research Council Chairman Fumio Kishida with 8.8 percent support. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike came next with 7.9 percent, followed by Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Seiko Noda with 4.5 percent.

The support ratings for Koizumi and Koike remained almost unchanged. But Kishida, who assumed the key LDP post last week, and Noda, who has returned to the government for the first time in a while, attracted far more support than in the previous survey.

The latest survey also found that 51.8 percent object to the idea of Abe staying on as LDP president if he wins the next party leadership election planned for September 2018. Meanwhile, 32.4 percent expressed support for the idea and 15.7 percent said they do not know. Jiji Press