The Ishiba cabinet’s approval rating has plunged to its lowest level since its inauguration last October following the recent ‘gift scandal’.
The Mainichi Shimbun reported in a two-day poll on Nov 15-16 that Ishiba’s approval rating fell 7 percentage points to 23 percent in just one month.
The figure is the lowest since Ishiba’s cabinet took office in October last year, and the same as a survey in August last year, when former Prime Minister Kishida announced he would not run for the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election.
In Japan, a cabinet approval rating below 30% is generally considered to be at risk of resignation.
Earlier, it was revealed that Ishiba gave gift certificates worth 100,000 yen each to 15 first-term members of the House of Representatives on March 3.
While Ishiba has denied illegality, it has been pointed out that he may be in violation of the campaign finance law.
