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Pool photo / The Yomiuri Shimbun Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba answers questions from reporters in Kobe on Sunday morning.
By Kota Iga and Kota Ifuku / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers
15:42 JST, April 14, 2025
Amid low approval ratings, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s Cabinet is struggling to make progress in coming up with large-scale economic measures to respond to high U.S. tariffs and rising prices before this summer’s House of Councillors election.
According to a nationwide poll conducted by The Yomiuri Shimbun in April, the approval rating of the Cabinet is low, bringing a sense of crisis within the government and ruling parties.
“The public are anxious about U.S. tariff policy. Prices are also rising. We will work hard to take appropriate measures,” Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Hiroshi Moriyama said Sunday. “We must respond to them with a supplementary budget.”
The previous survey in March, which showed the lowest Cabinet approval rating since the current administration took office, was conducted straight after it was revealed that Ishiba distributed ¥100,000 gift certificates to LDP lawmakers. Despite the issue becoming less prominent, the approval rating remains at 31%, disappointing the ruling parties.
“I had hoped for a turnaround, but the result is harsh,” Komeito Chief Representative Tetsuo Saito said. “It is unfortunate that the administration’s handling of U.S. tariff policy has not met with a positive response.”
There is a strong sense of crisis within upper house members of the LDP.
“We haven’t been able to take any measures yet,” said Masaji Matsuyama, the party’s secretary general for the upper house. “We must come up with an economic policy that will give people a sense of security.”
Any movement to oust Ishiba is not widespread within the LDP. However, the Cabinet has been forced to steer the unstable administration with an approval rating close to the danger zone of 30%.
Negotiations with U.S.
In order to boost the administration’s popularity, the government and ruling parties are considering introducing a supplementary budget bill that would include economic measures.
However, according to the results of the latest survey, the government’s proposal for a one-time cash payment to the public has not been well received. Some senior LDP upper house members are calling for the measures to also include a cut in consumption tax, with one member saying that a cash handout alone “would draw criticism.” Even so, many LDP members are concerned about financial resources, and no concrete next steps have yet been found.
Ishiba wants to move forward with negotiations with the United States during the 90-day pause in tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, but prospects are unclear. “Negotiations with the United States will determine the fate of the Cabinet,” a Cabinet minister said Sunday.
No-confidence motion
The opposition parties are also in a difficult position. Ahead of the upper house election, they are preparing to strengthen their opposition to the ruling camp. However, many of their policy demands, such as tax cuts and benefits, are also being considered by the ruling parties.
“This is a major crisis for the Japanese economy,” Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan President Yoshihiko Noda said at a street speech in Kawasaki on Sunday. “As an opposition party, we are prepared to cooperate for national interests.”
The issue over whether to submit a no-confidence motion against the Cabinet is also a focus of attention. Speaking to reporters in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, Noda said tha no decision can be made now, citing the current Diet session that will end on June 22, during the 90-day tariff pause.
Many in the CDPJ consider it difficult to play the card of a no-confidence motion, with a senior official saying, “An increasing number of people think it’s not a good idea to change the prime minister now, when the future of the economy is uncertain.”
Democratic Party for the People leader Yuichiro Tamaki told reporters in Nagoya that “The opposition parties will also be held accountable,” hinting that he would like to see the CDPJ submit a motion of no confidence.
