Noda Cabinet Approval Ratings Slump To Record Low
The approval rating of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's Cabinet has plunged to 19 per cent, the lowest since Noda took office in September last year and a level that usually spells danger for a prime minister, a Yomiuri Shimbun survey has found.
The support rate for Noda's Democratic Party of Japan also sank to a record low of 11 per cent.
In the nationwide telephone survey conducted Friday through Sunday, the approval rating of the Cabinet sank by 15 percentage points from the previous survey conducted in early October, just after the Cabinet was reshuffled.
In past DPJ administrations, the approval ratings of Cabinets led by Yukio Hatoyama and Naoto Kan just before they stepped down had fallen to 19 per cent and 18 per cent, respectively.
The approval rating of the Noda Cabinet has dropped to a similarly dangerous low level. The sharp decline in the rating will likely affect the current political situation, for example when the House of Representatives will be dissolved for a general election.
The decline appears to reflect public discontent with the government's failure to carry forward important policies including the passage of a bill to allow the government to issue deficit-covering bonds, and the recent resignation of former Justice Minister Keishu Tanaka after revelations he had past ties with an organised crime syndicate.
The Cabinet's disapproval rating jumped to 68 per cent from 56 per cent in the previous survey. Thirty-seven per cent of respondents who did not support the Cabinet said they had no expectations for new policies, while 20 per cent said Noda lacks leadership ability.
When asked about the desired timing of the lower house dissolution, 47 per cent chose "within this year," followed by "next spring" at 25 per cent and "at the beginning of the next ordinary Diet session" at 14 per cent.
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