77% Support Komeito Ending Coalition with LDP, Poll Shows; Overall Approval Ratings Largely Unchanged

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Seventy-seven percent of respondents to a recent Yomiuri Shimbun survey said they think it was appropriate for Komeito to end its coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party.

Among LDP supporters, the number was slightly lower, at 75%. A high percentage of LDP supporters also had positive feelings toward the party’s recently established coalition with the Japan Innovation Party, suggesting the new political framework is being favorably accepted among them.

As many as about 90% of JIP supporters said they think Komeito leaving the previous coalition was appropriate, and similar views were shared by most supporters of Komeito and various other parties.

In the survey, conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday, 70% of LDP supporters approved of the agreement of the LDP and JIP to form a coalition government, while 22% disapproved. Out of all respondents, 57% approved and 31% disapproved.

More than 90% of JIP supporters also approved of the agreement, but many Komeito supporters disapproved.

When asked whether any ministers should have been chosen among the members of the JIP, which had already decided to support the government from outside the Cabinet for the time being, 58% of all respondents said they did not think so, while 28% said they did. Those who said “no” included 58% of LDP-supporting respondents and about 80% of JIP supporters.

The new ruling coalition still only holds a minority of seats in both houses of the Diet. When asked which of four parties the LDP and the JIP should ideally collaborate with, 30% of respondents chose the Democratic Party for the People, 17% Sanseito, 15% the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and 9% Komeito. Eighteen percent did not pick any party. Many LDP and JIP supporters also picked the DPFP.

Despite the outcome of this survey, approval ratings for the LDP and the JIP have not significantly increased compared to those for the Cabinet. In addition, many LDP members are wary of reducing the number of seats in the House of Representative, a change strongly advocated by the JIP.

About 80% of JIP supporters said in the survey that they think related bills aiming for a 10% reduction in lower house seats should be passed quickly during the current Diet session. While 55% of LDP supporters said they agree with this, 36% said they do not.