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▼ Scandal Hits Cabinet Approval Rating
- Category:Event
The approval ratings of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet have rapidly declined following the revelation that the Finance Ministry altered documents related to the controversial sale of state-owned land to private school operator Moritomo Gakuen.
Abe has come under severe criticism on several occasions since returning to power in 2012, including when the Diet passed security-related legislation. However, the government and ruling parties are increasingly concerned that this crisis is different in nature. Dark clouds have begun to gather over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s autumn presidential election, in which Abe is widely expected to win a third consecutive term.
At the House of Councillors Budget Committee meeting Monday, Abe was questioned about a fall in the approval rating for his Cabinet.
“Public confidence in the entire public administration has been undermined, and I take the situation seriously,” Abe said with a stern face.
Surveys by various media organizations up to Sunday showed that Abe’s Cabinet has come under harsh public scrutiny.
In a survey by The Asahi Shimbun, its approval rating declined by 13 percentage points from the previous survey to 31 percent, the lowest since the launch of the second Abe Cabinet.
Surveys by other media organizations also showed falling approval, with a Mainichi Shimbun survey recording a 33 percent rating, down 12 points from the previous survey, and a Nippon News Network (NNN) survey finding a 30.3 percent rating, down 13.7 points.
This is not the first time Abe’s Cabinet approval ratings have plunged rapidly. During his second Cabinet, Abe was criticized for failing to obtain widespread public understanding when the Law on the Protection of Specially Designated Secrets was passed in December 2013, and again when the security-related legislation was passed in September 2015.
However, Abe successfully turned around his Cabinet approval ratings after each sharp drop. Though partly the result of opposition parties’ failures in areas such as policy confrontation, Abe’s ability to overcome difficulties stems chiefly from the specific outcomes he has achieved with his diplomacy and Abenomics economic policy package.
Will Abe be able to resuscitate his Cabinet approval rating this time around?
A sense of urgency is spreading within the government and ruling parties over this question. One senior LDP member said: “The latest decline in the approval rating is not the result of policy evaluations, but of the alteration of administrative documents, a failure that affects the foundation of democracy. In this sense, the situation is more serious.”
Pressure on Aso
There are few novel measures capable of achieving a turnaround.
While Abe positioned work style reform as a centerpiece of the current Diet session, deliberations were forced to a standstill because of numerous errors discovered in Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry data related to the discretionary labor system.
Abe is working to contain North Korea, but it is uncertain whether he will be able to stop North Korean leader Kim Jong Un from pursuing nuclear and missile development.
The LDP’s junior coalition partner Komeito has taken a stand-offish attitude. Komeito Secretary General Yoshihisa Inoue told Abe at a consultation meeting of the government and ruling parties Monday: “A sense of distrust is increasing among the public. I hope the prime minister will provide careful and detailed explanations at the Diet to dispel suspicions.”
Opposition parties have targeted Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso, drawing up a scenario to force him to resign at an early date.
Since the launch of Abe’s second Cabinet, Aso has consistently supported Abe together with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga. If Aso, a core member of the government, resigns, it could cause the Cabinet to crumble.
Abe intends to retain Aso, and Aso himself told close aides, “If I step down now, it will trigger a campaign to topple the government that would undermine national interests.”
Abe also has bitter experiences in his past.
In a scandal involving the daily activity logs of a Ground Self-Defense Force unit engaged in U.N. peacekeeping operations in South Sudan, Abe persisted in his defense of then Defense Minister Tomomi Inada. As a result, the LDP suffered a historical defeat in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election in July last year, and Inada was forced to resign at the end of the same month.
“If Abe continues to defend Aso, he’ll make the same mistake he did with Inada,” a mid-ranking LDP member said.
Abe has come under severe criticism on several occasions since returning to power in 2012, including when the Diet passed security-related legislation. However, the government and ruling parties are increasingly concerned that this crisis is different in nature. Dark clouds have begun to gather over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s autumn presidential election, in which Abe is widely expected to win a third consecutive term.
At the House of Councillors Budget Committee meeting Monday, Abe was questioned about a fall in the approval rating for his Cabinet.
“Public confidence in the entire public administration has been undermined, and I take the situation seriously,” Abe said with a stern face.
Surveys by various media organizations up to Sunday showed that Abe’s Cabinet has come under harsh public scrutiny.
In a survey by The Asahi Shimbun, its approval rating declined by 13 percentage points from the previous survey to 31 percent, the lowest since the launch of the second Abe Cabinet.
Surveys by other media organizations also showed falling approval, with a Mainichi Shimbun survey recording a 33 percent rating, down 12 points from the previous survey, and a Nippon News Network (NNN) survey finding a 30.3 percent rating, down 13.7 points.
This is not the first time Abe’s Cabinet approval ratings have plunged rapidly. During his second Cabinet, Abe was criticized for failing to obtain widespread public understanding when the Law on the Protection of Specially Designated Secrets was passed in December 2013, and again when the security-related legislation was passed in September 2015.
However, Abe successfully turned around his Cabinet approval ratings after each sharp drop. Though partly the result of opposition parties’ failures in areas such as policy confrontation, Abe’s ability to overcome difficulties stems chiefly from the specific outcomes he has achieved with his diplomacy and Abenomics economic policy package.
Will Abe be able to resuscitate his Cabinet approval rating this time around?
A sense of urgency is spreading within the government and ruling parties over this question. One senior LDP member said: “The latest decline in the approval rating is not the result of policy evaluations, but of the alteration of administrative documents, a failure that affects the foundation of democracy. In this sense, the situation is more serious.”
Pressure on Aso
There are few novel measures capable of achieving a turnaround.
While Abe positioned work style reform as a centerpiece of the current Diet session, deliberations were forced to a standstill because of numerous errors discovered in Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry data related to the discretionary labor system.
Abe is working to contain North Korea, but it is uncertain whether he will be able to stop North Korean leader Kim Jong Un from pursuing nuclear and missile development.
The LDP’s junior coalition partner Komeito has taken a stand-offish attitude. Komeito Secretary General Yoshihisa Inoue told Abe at a consultation meeting of the government and ruling parties Monday: “A sense of distrust is increasing among the public. I hope the prime minister will provide careful and detailed explanations at the Diet to dispel suspicions.”
Opposition parties have targeted Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso, drawing up a scenario to force him to resign at an early date.
Since the launch of Abe’s second Cabinet, Aso has consistently supported Abe together with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga. If Aso, a core member of the government, resigns, it could cause the Cabinet to crumble.
Abe intends to retain Aso, and Aso himself told close aides, “If I step down now, it will trigger a campaign to topple the government that would undermine national interests.”
Abe also has bitter experiences in his past.
In a scandal involving the daily activity logs of a Ground Self-Defense Force unit engaged in U.N. peacekeeping operations in South Sudan, Abe persisted in his defense of then Defense Minister Tomomi Inada. As a result, the LDP suffered a historical defeat in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election in July last year, and Inada was forced to resign at the end of the same month.
“If Abe continues to defend Aso, he’ll make the same mistake he did with Inada,” a mid-ranking LDP member said.
- March 21, 2018
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