[TOKYO] Most Japanese firms want Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to be replaced as record Covid-19 infections threaten the economy, a new survey showed, adding to the premier's woes ahead of a party leadership vote in coming weeks.

The firms favoured vaccine czar and former Foreign Minister Taro Kono to replace Mr Suga as leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, the corporate poll from Reuters published on Friday showed. Reuters said its survey canvassed 503 large and midsize non-financial firms, and about half responded.

Mr Suga's public support rate has plunged to record lows - in some cases below 30 per cent that's regarded in local politics as a make-or-break level - ahead of a general election in the next three months.

Japan recorded 25,156 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, the highest since the beginning of the pandemic, public broadcaster NHK said.

While the death toll remains relatively low, polls show the public is dissatisfied with Mr Suga's response to the virus and anxious about the shortage of hospital beds that has forced growing numbers of people to recover at home instead.

While Mr Suga, who took office in September 2020, has the support for now of several powerful factions in the ruling LDP, any further slips with pandemic management could open the door for a replacement and add him to a long line of short-serving prime ministers.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

Consistently low support for the main opposition party means the LDP is unlikely to be ousted in the coming election, but it could lose enough seats to make it more difficult to pass legislation. The support rate for the Constitutional Democratic Party has been long mired in single-digit territory.

About 40 per cent of the approximately 250 firms surveyed by Reuters predicted the LDP and its coalition ally Komeito would retain or exceed their current overwhelming majority in the lower house of parliament in the coming election, while about a third expected them to lose many seats.

BLOOMBERG