Approval rate for Japan PM Abe's Cabinet logs sharpest fall in 2 years

Feb 17, 2020 | News On Japan

Feb 17, 2020 (Kyodo) - The approval rate for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet stands at 41.0 percent, a Kyodo News survey showed Sunday, down 8.3 points from the previous poll in January and marking the sharpest fall in nearly two years amid yet another cronyism scandal.

In the nationwide opinion poll, conducted Saturday and Sunday, 82.5 percent said they were either "worried" or "worried to a certain extent" about the negative impact of the new coronavirus outbreak on the Japanese economy.

While 63.5 percent welcomed the government's decision to prohibit some foreigners from entering Japan to prevent the spread of the virus that originated in China, 30.4 percent said it was insufficient.

The survey also showed that 71.4 percent expect an unfavorable impact on Japan if Donald Trump is re-elected in the U.S. presidential election in November, while 16.7 percent anticipate a favorable impact.

The disapproval rate stood at 46.1 percent, up 9.4 points, following criticism of the government's handling of documents related to publicly funded annual cherry blossom viewing parties at the center of another allegation of cronyism.

At issue is the opaque selection process for guests, with the government compiling the list of invitees based on recommendations from Cabinet members, including the prime minister, and ruling party lawmakers.

In the telephone survey, 84.5 percent said Abe had failed to provide an adequate explanation regarding the matter.

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