Japanese unimpressed with stimulus steps, Kishida’s ratings hit low: poll

NEARLY two-thirds of Japanese are not impressed with the government’s new economic stimulus measures as support for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida slipped to its lowest yet, a Kyodo news poll found on Sunday.

The telephone survey found 62.5 per cent of respondents did not highly rate the 17 trillion yen (S$149 billion) package, announced on Thursday, of tax cuts and other measures.

Support for Kishida’s cabinet fell 4.0 percentage points from three weeks earlier to 28.3 per cent, its lowest in the Kyodo survey since he took office in October 2021, and in line with other recent surveys. His disapproval rating rose 4.2 points to 56.7 per cent in the survey conducted from Friday to Sunday.

It was the first time in the Kyodo poll that approval for a Liberal Democratic Party-led government has fallen below 30 per cent since 2009.

Kishida’s measures, aimed at cushioning the economic blow from rising inflation, including cutting annual income and other taxes by 40,000 yen (S$365) per person and paying 70,000 yen to low-income households. REUTERS