Opinion ratings for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government hit a new low in one poll and hovered near a low in another, hit by his party’s ties to a controversial church and doubts over a massive spending plan. Support fell to 42% in a Nikkei newspaper poll over the weekend, the lowest since Kishida took office in October 2021. Approval rose slightly to 37.6% in a Kyodo poll from 35% in early October.
The announcement of a $200 billion economic stimulus package did little to boost Kishida’s ratings, nor did Economic Revitalization Minister Daishiro Yamagiwa’s resignation last week over his ties to the Unification Church, whose ties to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) are weakening. investigated in connection with the July 8 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The Unification Church, founded in South Korea in the 1950s and known for its mass weddings, has fended off criticism for the way it collects donations. The suspect in Abe’s shooting harbored a grudge against the church, claiming it bankrupted his mother and accusing Abe of promoting it, according to his social media posts and news reports.
The LDP has since acknowledged that many lawmakers had individual ties to the church, but said there was no organizational tie to the party. Kishida announced an investigation into the church this month, and 78% of respondents to a Nikkei poll said the government should call for the church to disband. Only 14% were against such a procedure. In the Kyodo poll, nearly 80% of respondents thought the LDP should expand its investigation of the church. When asked about the stimulus plan, 71.1% of respondents said they did not expect much from it.At its peak, support for Kishido’s government hovered above 60%. A poll earlier this month showed it had fallen to 27.4%, a level low enough to make policy implementation difficult.
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