Ishiba Cabinet Approval Rating Plummets to 22% in Japan Following Heavy Loss in House of Councillors Election

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:39 JST, July 23, 2025

The approval rating for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s Cabinet plummeted to 22%, compared to 32% in the previous survey in June, in a recent Yomiuri Shimbun survey following the ruling bloc’s heavy loss in the House of Councillors election on Sunday.

The approval rating for the Ishiba Cabinet has fallen to its lowest level since the Cabinet was formed. The survey was conducted on Monday and Tuesday immediately after the election.

The number of seats won by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito fell short of the target of 50 seats set by Ishiba, who is also the LDP president, and the ruling bloc eventually lost its majority in the upper house. In the survey, 54% of respondents said that Ishiba should resign after the election loss.

The approval rating of 22% is lower than the lowest rating of 23% during the previous Cabinet of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, a figure recorded in a June 2024 survey.

According to the results broken down by political party affiliation, 61% of ruling bloc supporters approved the Cabinet, followed by 8% of those support opposition parties, and 14% of voters with no political affiliation.

The disapproval rating rose to 67%, compared to 53% in the previous June survey, exceeding 60% for the first time under the Ishiba Cabinet.

When asked if they thought Ishiba should resign, 67% of respondents age 18 to 39, 61% of those age 40 to 59, and 41% of those age 60 and older responded that he should, with younger people expressing more critical views.

When broken down by political party affiliation, 34% of LDP supporters said Ishiba should resign, followed by 67% of those who support opposition parties and 54% of voters with no political affiliation. A total of 35% of respondents said they did not think Ishiba should resign.

The survey was conducted by calling landline and mobile phone numbers selected via random digit dialing, targeting voters age 18 and older. From the landlines, 408 people were selected from 755 households where a voter was confirmed to reside, and from the mobile numbers, 635 people were selected from 1,830 who responded. A total of 1,043 provided answers.