Kishida Cabinet support rate falls to 24.5% over scandal, second-lowest

The support rate for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet fell 2.8 percentage points to 24.5%, marking its second-lowest rating, a Kyodo News survey showed Sunday, with most respondents indicating discontent with his fact-finding efforts regarding the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s political funds scandal.

Some 84.9% said LDP lawmakers who failed to report income from fundraising parties should explain what they used the funds for, while 87% expect the party’s reform proposals drawn up in an interim report will not help the LDP restore public trust.

The approval rating of the Kishida Cabinet hit an all-time low in December last year at 22.3%, wavering in the 20% range for the past four polls, including the previous survey in January.

A total of 76.5% said a guilt-by-association measure between lawmakers and their staffers should be introduced in the political funds control law, while 89.3% answered that it was even necessary to report expenses for political activities that are currently exempted from income and expenditure reports.

The LDP has come under intense scrutiny amid allegations that three of its factions, including the one that Kishida led until December, failed to report portions of their revenues from fundraising parties and created slush funds to distribute proceeds to members.

Prosecutors have indicted or issued summary indictments for 10 individuals belonging to the three groups. However, executives of the factions have not faced criminal charges due to a lack of evidence.