The approval rating for the Japanese government has fallen to its lowest level since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office in October 2025, according to a Kyodo News poll.
Over the past month, approval ratings for the government have fallen by 5.5 percentage points to 55.8%. Meanwhile, the share of those who disapprove of the government's performance has increased by 1.1 percentage points to 27.9%.
At the same time, 49.7% of respondents consider the prime minister's explanations for the scandalous publications in the weekly “Shukan Bunshun“ insufficient. The newspaper alleged that associates close to Takaichi were involved in distributing defamatory videos about their rivals in last year's election for the leadership of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Takaichi herself has repeatedly denied the allegations.