43.8 Pct Poised to Back Possible Takaichi Cabinet: Jiji Poll

Tokyo, Oct. 16 (Jiji Press)–A Jiji Press opinion poll for October showed Thursday that 43.8 pct of respondents will support Japan’s new cabinet that would be formed by Sanae Takaichi, the leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, if she becomes prime minister. The figure far outnumbered the 23.0 pct who said they will not support the possible Takaichi cabinet. Meanwhile, 33.3 pct said they do not know. Support for the possible Takaichi cabinet, the first to be led by a female prime minister in Japan, is considerably higher than the 28.0 pct approval rate marked by the current cabinet of outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in the first Jiji Press poll since its October 2024 launch and also better than the initial support of 40.3 pct recorded by the cabinet of Ishiba’s predecessor, former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, which was formed in October 2021. Takaichi, who was elected LDP president early this month, is especially popular among young people, with 58.0 pct of respondents aged 18 to 29 and 51.5 pct of those in their 30s voicing support for her possible cabinet. She has the strong backing of conservative-leaning respondents, with 66.4 pct of LDP supporters, 71.4 pct of Sanseito supporters and 72.7 pct of Conservative Party of Japan supporters saying that they favor a Takaichi cabinet. The support rates among the backers of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) and the Democratic Party for the People, both opposition parties Takaichi is seeking to partner with for her potential administration, stood at 38.1 pct and 56.8 pct, respectively. Meanwhile, 40.6 pct of Komeito supporters said they would not support a Takaichi cabinet, beating the 15.6 pct who said they would. Komeito dissolved its coalition with the LDP last week, following Takaichi’s election as LDP president. The support rate for a Takaichi cabinet among those who back the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan came to a mere 16.3 pct. Of all respondents, 19.7 pct said they support the LDP, up 2.6 percentage points from September. Sanseito led the opposition side in public support for the third consecutive month with 4.8 pct, down 1.1 points. Support for the CDP came to 4.2 pct, down 1.1 points, and that for the DPFP to 3.8 pct, up 0.4 point. Support stood at 2.8 pct for Komeito, 1.8 pct for Nippon Ishin, 1.5 pct for Reiwa Shinsengumi, 0.9 pct for the Japanese Communist Party, 0.9 pct for the CPJ, 0.7 pct for Team Mirai and 0.6 pct for the Social Democratic Party. The approval rate for the current Ishiba cabinet fell 2.6 points to 25.1 pct, while disapproval inched down 0.1 point to 48.2 pct. The interview-based survey was conducted over four days through Monday, covering 2,000 people aged 18 or over across the country. Valid responses came from 58.2 pct. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]