According to the latest Asahi Shimbun survey, a majority of voters expressed dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's performance during his three years in office. The survey, conducted on August 24 and 25, showed that 56% of respondents gave Kishida failing grades, with 40% stating his performance was "somewhat poor" and 16% labeling it as "poor."
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's decision not to run in the upcoming ruling Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election in September indicates that he will step down as prime minister in the near future. Despite receiving positive reviews from 67% of LDP supporters, Kishida faced criticism from unaffiliated voters, with 62% of them giving him failing grades and only 34% offering positive evaluations. The dissatisfaction was particularly pronounced among respondents in their 30s, with 66% of them giving Kishida unfavorable ratings.
In terms of preferences for the next administration, the survey highlighted interesting shifts in public opinion. While 42% of respondents favored the LDP to be in charge, indicating a 4-percentage point increase from the previous survey, 43% preferred a party other than the LDP, showing a 5-percentage point decrease. Notably, the gap between "pro-LDP" and "anti-LDP" responses narrowed in the latest survey, indicating a more balanced viewpoint among voters. Additionally, the approval rate for the Kishida Cabinet decreased by 3 percentage points to 23%, while the disapproval rate rose by 1 point to 62%. The survey, which included 1,058 valid responses from randomly generated telephone calls, reflected a mixed sentiment towards the government's leadership under Prime Minister Kishida.