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Yomiuri Shimbun file photo A voter casts their ballot for the lower house election in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, on Sunday.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
17:05 JST, October 30, 2024
Fifty-eight percent of the eligible voters surveyed by The Yomiuri Shimbun said they were “happy” about the outcome of Sunday’s House of Representatives election in which the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito lost the majority, while the opposition parties, such as the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, made great strides. Only 25% of the respondents said they were “unhappy.”
In the phone survey conducted on Monday and Tuesday, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s Cabinet had an approval rating of 34%, a sharp drop from 51% in the previous survey on Oct. 1 to 2, conducted immediately after his Cabinet was inaugurated.
The disapproval rating for the Cabinet stood at 51%, increasing from 32% in the previous survey. In less than a month since the inauguration, the Cabinet’s disapproval rating has surpassed the approval rating.
When asked whether Ishiba should resign as prime minister in light of the election results, 56% said they “disagreed,” while 29% said they “agreed” that he should resign.
When asked whether they thought the politics and money issue involving LDP factions had affected the election results, 90% of the respondents answered “yes,” while 6% answered “no.”
Regarding the LDP providing ¥20 million each to branches led by candidates who were unendorsed due to their involvement in the political funds scandal, 79% of the respondents said they “did not agree” with the action, while 10% said they “agreed.”
On the policies and issues the respondents thought were particularly important when deciding who to vote for, with multiple answers allowed, 68% of respondents cited “the economy and employment,” followed by “social security” and “the issue of politics and money” at 61% each, “education and child-rearing” at 58%, “diplomacy and security” at 51% and “fiscal reconstruction” at 48%.
Regarding support for political parties, support for the LDP fell to 25% compared to 38% in the previous survey, and support for Komeito increased to 4% compared to 3% in the previous survey.
Support increased for most opposition parties. Support for the CDPJ increased to 14% compared to 7% in the previous survey, support for the Democratic Party for the People increased to 7% from 1%, support for the Japan Innovation Party increased to 5% from 3%, support for Reiwa Shinsengumi increased to 4% from 1%, support for the Japanese Communist Party increased to 3% from 2% and support for Sanseito increased to 2% from 0%.
Support for the Social Democratic Party was unchanged at 1%, support for the Conservative Party of Japan, which qualified as a political party in the recent lower house election under the political party grants law, stood at 1% in the survey, and respondents who did not support any party stood at 31%, down from 40%.
The survey was conducted among eligible voters aged 18 or older using the random digit dialing method in which computer-generated random phone numbers were called.
A total of 1,068 responses were received. Of the 827 landlines called, 423 people responded to the survey, and of the 1,816 mobile phones called, 645 people responded. The response rate was 51% for landlines and 36% for mobile phones. Figures were rounded to the nearest whole number.
