Support for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s cabinet fell, amid concerns over problems with a national ID card and the release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear site.
A survey carried out by Kyodo News found support had slumped by 6.5 percentage points on the previous poll to 34.4%, nearing the lowest level since Kishida took office in 2021. A separate poll by the Asahi newspaper found the approval rate had fallen 5 percentage points to 37%, also near a low of 34%. Another survey by the Sankei newspaper said the rate fell for a third straight month to 41.3%.
Polls cited reasons including continued troubles over the overhaul of a national ID card, and insufficient explanation over the release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear site.
Last month Kishida promised the public he would fix problems with the introduction of a national ID card that is set to be made essentially compulsory from next autumn, and has raised concerns about data breaches.
Unease over cases where people have found their ID cards linked to personal information about unrelated individuals has added to pressure on Kishida.
Meanwhile the plan for Tokyo Electric Power Co. to release the wastewater — equivalent in volume to about 500 Olympic-size swimming pools — has drawn fierce criticism from China and stirred wider regional concerns.
Around 80% of respondents to the Kyodo poll said the government’s explanation over the Fukushima wastewater was insufficient, while 74.7% said the current review of problems plaguing the national ID card will not resolve the issue.
Respondents also remained skeptical of the government’s measures to tackle the country’s falling birthrate. About 65% of those surveyed by the Asahi expressed disapproval, while a similar number said they didn’t expect the measures to improve the birthrate according to the Sankei survey.
All nationwide polls were conducted over the weekend via phone.
(Adds details from Sankei newspaper poll in second, eighth paragraph.)
