PM's cabinet support flat at 63%; half discontent with oil response

TOKYO — The approval rate for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Cabinet has fallen 0.3 percentage point from the March survey to 63.8 percent, with nearly half of the respondents indicating discontent with her handling of disruptions to the supply of oil, a Kyodo News poll showed Sunday.

In the two-day telephone survey conducted from Saturday, 49.3 percent say the prime minister's response to the oil supply shortage stemming from the Iran war is not sufficient, while 41.4 percent believe it is sufficient. The Cabinet's disapproval rate rose 2.0 points to 26.0 percent.

Amid the global oil crisis, Japan has started tapping about 80 million barrels of oil, equivalent to about 45 days' worth of domestic consumption. It is also considering the possibility of an additional release in May.

Takaichi expressed her support for a possible additional joint oil stockpile release by the 32-member International Energy Agency in a meeting with IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol in March.

Still, the poll shows 89.5 percent, up 4.1 points, are concerned over the impact of the Middle East conflict on their daily life and 69.6 percent want the government to continue providing subsidies to bring down gasoline prices.

The average retail price of gasoline in Japan soared to a record 190.80 yen per liter in mid-March, before it recently fell to around 170 yen, around the government target, as subsidies began.

The industry minister said the government is considering steps to curb demand for oil, with Takaichi indicating the public may be asked to reduce gasoline consumption.

Regarding U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, 80.3 percent think it was the wrong decision, while 50.1 percent support the Japanese government's position of being silent on the assessment of the Iran war, as opposed to no support at 42.2 percent.

Some 30.0 percent say the Constitution should be amended to allow Japan to dispatch its Self-Defense Forces to the Strait of Hormuz, the primary global energy chokepoint during the conflict, while 64.4 say such an amendment is not necessary.

Among political parties, the support rate for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party rose 2.6 points to 40.3 percent, while that for its junior coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, fell to 6.5 percent, down 0.7 point.

The Centrist Reform Alliance, the main opposition force, garnered support from 6.1 percent, down from 6.3 percent.

A total of 514 randomly selected households with eligible voters and 3,494 mobile phone numbers were called for the survey, yielding responses from 423 household members and 624 mobile phone users.

© KYODO