Japan: Kishida government’s popularity plummets

The popularity of the Japanese government under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has fallen to its lowest level since he took office, amid backlash over the ruling party’s ties to the controversial Unification Church and the cost of the state funeral for slain former prime minister Shinzo Abe.

According to a new poll, support for the government fell to 41 percent from 47 percent in August, the lowest level since Kishida became prime minister. It is worth noting that at the beginning of July this percentage was around 57%.

In the poll published today in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, the percentage of those who have a negative view of Prime Minister Kishida rose from 39% to 47%.

Ties to the Unification Church, which was founded in South Korea in the 1950s, have been a headache for Kishida since July 8, when Shinzo Abe was assassinated by a gunman who accused him of supporting the church, which – he claimed – had driven his mother into bankruptcy.

Kishida’s decision to hold Abe’s state funeral on September 27 has sparked strong reactions, both for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s ties to the Unification Church and the financial cost it entails.

Last week, Kishida defended in parliament his decision to hold the funeral of Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister. However, 64% of poll respondents said they disagreed with Fumio Kishida’s reasoning.

Opposition to Shinzo Abe’s public funeral spending rose to 56 percent from 50 percent in August, according to the Asahi Shimbun.

RES-EMP

Read the News today and get the latest news.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news.