Arya News - “Strengthening cooperation with allied and like-minded nations” topped the survey results with 69 percent of respondents saying they approve, indicating high approval for her foreign policy efforts.
TOKYO – The average rating of the performance of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Cabinet was 5.3 out of 10 points, according to a joint survey by The Yomiuri Shimbun and Waseda University’s Institute for Advanced Social Sciences. This is the highest score among the cabinets evaluated in the seven surveys conducted since former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s second Cabinet in 2017.
The nationwide public opinion survey was conducted by mail from July 27 to Aug. 31 to gauge voters’ political attitudes.
There have been previous surveys of the performances of the second Abe Cabinet and the Kishida and Ishiba administrations, with the highest score to date having been the Abe Cabinet’s average of 5.2 points in the July-August 2019 survey.
Respondents were asked to evaluate Takaichi’s efforts to date on the seven policy items she had proposed during last year’s Liberal Democratic Party presidential election.
“Strengthening cooperation with allied and like-minded nations” topped the list with 69% of respondents saying they approve, indicating high approval for her foreign policy efforts. On her policy of “proactive investment in growth sectors such as artificial intelligence and semiconductors,” 66% said they approved. On “strengthening defense capabilities,” 61% approved while 52% approved of “tax credits combined with cash payments.”
In contrast, “transparency in political funding” stood at 31%, “policies regarding foreign nationals” at 41% and “efforts toward constitutional amendment” at 45% — all of which dropped below the percentage of respondents who do not approve.
Regarding Takaichi’s policy of “responsible and proactive public finances” prioritizing economic growth, 64% approved of active fiscal stimulus, much more than the 33% who disapproved. On the other hand, 64% feel that aggressive fiscal spending will worsen Japan’s fiscal situation, while 33% do not feel that way.
When respondents were asked how long they would like Takaichi to remain in office, the most common response — at 45% — was “until September 2027, when her term as LDP president expires,” followed by “as long as possible” at 34% and “I want her to step down immediately” at 14%.
The survey targeted 3,000 eligible voters nationwide, with 1,907 respondents and a response rate of 64%.