Japanese media poll: Approval rating for Takaichi cabinet falls to new low

The latest public opinion poll released by Japan's Kyodo News on the 18th shows that the approval rating of the Takaichi Sanae cabinet has fallen to 49.1%, setting a new low in the agency's polling results since the Takaichi cabinet was established, and also marking the first time it has dropped below 50%. The survey was conducted by telephone interviews on the 17th and 18th. Compared with last month's survey, the Takaichi cabinet's approval rating dropped by 4.3 percentage points. Recently, controversy has continued to intensify over former Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ryowa Sei of the Takaichi cabinet due to inappropriate remarks and suspected violations of the Public Offices Election Act. The survey shows that 57.7% of respondents believe that Takaichi's replacement of Ryowa Sei was "too late." In addition, 54.7% of respondents believe that Ryowa Sei's resignation will have an adverse impact on the Takaichi cabinet's governance. On economic policy, 65.1% of respondents expressed concern about the negative impact that the Takaichi cabinet's blind cut to the consumption tax may have on Japan's finances. In addition to Ryowa Sei being replaced over issues such as inappropriate remarks, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Sekiyoshi Hiroshi also apologized for improperly holding political fundraising activities. A succession of cabinet minister scandals has dealt a blow to the Takaichi cabinet's approval rating. Public opinion polls recently released by multiple organizations all show that the Takaichi cabinet's approval rating has declined significantly.