Japan PM Takaichi's high approval rating slips ahead of election

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s public approval rating has slipped in new polling ahead of a national election next month that she has framed as a direct verdict on her stewardship of the world’s fourth-largest economy.

In a survey released on Monday by the Nikkei newspaper, support for Japan’s PM Takaichi administration fell below 70% for the first time since she became Japan’s first female premier in October, dropping to 67% from 75% in December.

A separate Kyodo voter survey showed approval slipping to 63% from 68%, while a Mainichi newspaper poll said it had fallen ten points to 57%.

By calling a snap vote to decide all 465 lower-house seats, Takaichi is seeking to convert personal popularity into support for her expansionary fiscal policies and to strengthen her grip on the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). It and coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party (Ishin), hold a one-seat majority in the chamber.

The polling suggests voter scepticism of her economic plans may be growing. In the Nikkei survey, 56% of respondents did not think Takaichi’s proposed stimulus package would cushion the impact of rising living costs. Market concern that Japan may need to issue additional debt to fund the measures has pushed up government bond yields.

Takaichi’s decision to call an election before lawmakers approve her record $793 billion national budget has drawn criticism from opposition lawmakers as political opportunism. Two-fifths of the respondents in the Mainichi survey said they were unhappy with the timing, compared with fewer than a third who approved.

She heads into the Feb 8 election leading a party far less popular than she is personally, with the LDP polling at around 30% in several recent polls.

Japan’s PM Takaichi has also lost the backing of the centrist Komeito party, which last year ended its 26-year alliance with the LDP and joined forces with the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, depriving the LDP of a crucial vote-getter in dozens of urban constituencies.

The outcome of the election could hinge on whether she can capitalise on her strong personal polling to rekindle support for her party more broadly, analysts say.

An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the accident, with military aircraft and vessels deployed to support the effort.

It will be “the most unpredictable election in years,” said Tobias Harris, founder of political risk advisory firm Japan Foresight.

“LDP’s backbenchers know that their fates will rest in Takaichi’s hands,” he said in a report.