TOKYO -- New Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet starts with a 59% approval rating in a Nikkei-TV Tokyo poll, an improvement from the previous cabinet's slump but lower than the initial public support for his two most recent predecessors.
This was the third-worst inaugural rating among nine prime ministers with comparable data going back to 2002. Kishida took office on Monday.
The poll results come ahead of a general election on Oct. 31 that will mark the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's first test with voters in four years.
Kishida's rating represents a 21 percentage point jump from the final poll for previous Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, whose approval rating was underwater at 38% in September amid mounting criticism of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. But it is far below the 74% approval rating Suga received when his cabinet launched in September last year.
Kishida had trailed his leading rival for leadership of the LDP, Taro Kono, in opinion polls before he won last week's party vote in a runoff. Only LDP members voted, not the general public.
Asked why they approve of Kishida's cabinet, 38% of supporters in the Nikkei poll called him trustworthy, more than any other response.
The share of respondents disapproving of the cabinet fell to 25%, down 26 points from Suga's last poll in September.
Among initial ratings for past prime ministers, Taro Aso's 2008 start was the lowest at 53%, followed by Yasuo Fukuda in 2007 at 59%, whom Kishida edges out by a fraction of a point. Shinzo Abe began his second stint in 2012 with 62% support.
The new lineup of cabinet members and top LDP officials got a more positive than negative response, at 40% to 36%. The top reason given by supporters was the addition of younger faces, cited by 28%, while 54% of critics said the selection had been constrained by factional politics.
The creation of a new ministerial post for economic security was considered "appropriate" by 65% of respondents.
On Kishida's vision for economic policy, which he describes as aiming for a "virtuous cycle of growth and distribution," respondents were divided on which factor to emphasize more. Growth was favored by 47%, while 38% chose distribution to reduce inequality.
Kishida sees the two forces working together, with distribution helping to expand the middle class.
"Unless we properly distribute the fruits of growth, consumer spending and demand won't pick up, dimming hopes for the next wave of growth," he said Monday.
Respondents aged 18-39, who have spent all or most of their lives in the economic slump since Japan's asset price bubble burst, showed 59% supporting growth policies. Distribution gained more supporters among older groups, taking the lead among those 60 and up.
A partisan divide also appeared, with 55% of LDP supporters and 44% of independents prioritizing growth, while only around 20% of those who back the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party said the same.
Among those favoring growth over redistribution, 18% said a shift to digital services should be a policy priority, compared with 14% overall. Redistribution advocates were more likely than the overall pool to mention pensions and medical care as a priority, at 45%.
Asked about such specific policy priorities, with multiple responses permitted, 49% said responding to the coronavirus pandemic should be high on the list. An economic recovery came next at 43%, followed by pensions, medical care and nursing care at 41%. Child care and reversing low birthrates were cited by 32%, while fiscal consolidation was noted by 25%.
Three-quarters of respondents approved of Kishida's call for a "health crisis management agency" to handle the pandemic response, showing broad support across all age groups and political affiliations.
Respondents were divided on how long the prime minister should stay in office, with 29% favoring around two years, 19% around three years and 21% saying "as long as possible." Another 18% said he should remain until next summer's upper house election.
Support for the LDP ticked up 4 points from the September poll to 51%, while other affiliations stayed flat in the single digits. The share of those calling themselves independents fell 3 points to 27%. Asked which party they are likely to vote for in the general election, 53% said the LDP and 11% said the Constitutional Democrats -- both figures largely unchanged from September.
The telephone poll of potential voters 18 and older was conducted Monday and Tuesday, with 854 people responding for a response rate of 43.1%.