With the House of Councilors election in Japan set for the 20th, a poll has shown that support for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has dropped to its lowest level in over 12 years.
Japanese media outlet NHK reported on the 14th that in a survey conducted from the 11th to the 13th, 1,913 citizens aged 18 and older responded, revealing that support for the Liberal Democratic Party fell by 4.1 percentage points from the previous week to 24.0%.
This is the lowest support level for the Liberal Democratic Party in NHK's history since it regained power from the Democratic Party in December 2012. Compared to about a month ago, this represents a decrease of 7.6 percentage points. The support levels for other parties are as follows: Constitutional Democratic Party (7.8%), Komeito (5.9%), and Democratic Party for the People (4.9%).
The support rate for the Kishida Cabinet remained unchanged at 31%. However, compared to about a month ago (39%), it has plunged by 8 percentage points. During the same period, the percentage of respondents who do not support the Kishida Cabinet increased from 42% to 53%.
This survey appears to reflect disappointment with the Kishida Cabinet's response to issues such as the Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations. Twenty-three percent of respondents rated the Japanese government's tariff response very low, while 40% also indicated they did not rate it highly.