The latest opinion poll shows that the support rate for the Japanese Cabinet has dropped to 32%. In the Japanese parliamentary elections held on Sunday (October 27), the ruling coalition led by the Liberal Democratic Party lost the majority in the House of Representatives. Prime Minister Ishiba’s political future is facing uncertainties.
According to a report by Kyodo News on Tuesday, Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru’s Cabinet saw a significant drop in public support from 50.6% earlier this month to 32%.
However, 65.7% of respondents believe that Ishiba does not need to resign even though he failed to secure a majority in Sunday’s election.
In the crucial parliamentary elections on Sunday, Ishiba Shigeru’s ruling coalition won 215 seats, a significant decrease from the previous 279 seats. The outcome is widely seen as a voter backlash against the ruling party’s broad financial scandals.
While Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party remains the main political party in the Japanese parliament and is expected to remain in power without a government change, the results have created political uncertainties. Failing to secure a majority makes it difficult for Ishiba to push through his party’s policies in the parliament; he may need to look for a third coalition partner. The coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party still holds the majority in the less powerful Upper House.
Ishiba took office on October 1 and immediately called for elections, hoping to consolidate support after his predecessor, Fumio Kishida, failed to address public anger over the LDP scandals.
Regarding the election defeat, he said, “The results so far are very severe, and we take them very seriously. I believe voters are telling us to reflect more and become a party that can meet their expectations.”
Ishiba stated that the LDP will continue to lead the ruling coalition, handle key policies, draft a supplementary budget for planned projects, and promote political reform. He expressed readiness for cooperation with opposition groups if it aligns with public expectations.
Yukio Edano, the leader of the People’s Democratic Party, which won 28 seats in the election, expressed openness to “partial alliances.”
Ishiba may also face pushback from some lawmakers associated with scandals related to the former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s faction. Ishiba had withdrawn his support for them in Sunday’s election in an attempt to regain public support.
The cohesion within the LDP is currently weak, potentially leading to a era of short-lived prime ministers. It is expected that Ishiba Shigeru will at least continue until the ruling coalition approves the key budget plans by the end of December.
Maki Hideta, a professor of Politics and Public Policy at the University of Tokyo, said, “Criticism of the bribery scandal is intensifying and will not easily disappear. People’s consciousness of fairness is growing, and they reject giving political privileges.”
He suggested that Ishiba take bold political reform measures to regain public trust.
Experts also noted that voters are disappointed with Ishiba’s early policy reversals.
Ishiba promised to revitalize the rural economy, address Japan’s declining birth rate issue, and strengthen national defense, but his cabinet is filled with familiar faces, with only two women.
To placate the extreme conservatives within the party, Ishiba quickly retracted his previous support for options such as allowing married couples to use separate surnames and legalizing same-sex marriage, despite broad public support for these proposals.
Rintaro Nishimura, a political analyst at the Asian Group, said, “His declining popularity is due to the gap between the public’s expectations of him as Prime Minister and the reality he has brought.”
(Adapted from reports by Reuters and AP)