Takaichi Cabinet Support Slips Again to 59.1%

On April 16, public support for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's cabinet edged down to 59.1%, according to reports from The Japan Times and Nippon.com, both citing a new Jiji Press survey. The move was small, just 0.2 percentage point from the previous month, but it extended a second straight monthly dip while keeping the cabinet close to the 60% line.

Key developments

• The Nippon.com report says 19.2% of respondents did not support the cabinet, down 1.1 points from the prior month, while 21.7% said they did not know. That means the slight drop in support came alongside a lower disapproval rate and a still sizable undecided bloc.

• Among respondents who backed the cabinet, leadership was the most common reason at 28.3%. Trust in Takaichi followed at 20.2%, while 16.4% cited a positive impression of the cabinet and 13.5% said there was no other person fit to be prime minister.

• The survey interviewed 2,000 people age 18 or older across Japan over four days through Monday, with valid responses from 58.8% of those contacted. Both the Japan Times report and Nippon.com described the approval level as lower but still high compared with earlier administrations.

• Takaichi, who took office in October 2025, has now logged two straight monthly lows in the Jiji series. Even so, the April reading points to softening momentum rather than a sharp break in public sentiment.

What to watch

The next monthly poll will be the clearest test of whether April's reading marks the start of a broader cooling trend or just another narrow fluctuation around 60%. Neither source points to a single event behind the latest move, so the direction of the next release may matter more than the size of this month's decline alone.

If support keeps slipping while the undecided share stays above one-fifth of respondents, that would suggest Takaichi's early cushion is narrowing. If approval stabilizes and disapproval remains subdued, the April result may look more like a pause than a more serious turn.

Sources

• The Japan Times: Support for Takaichi's Cabinet slightly lower at 59.1%, poll shows
• Nippon.com: Support for Takaichi Cabinet Dips to 59.1 Pct: Jiji Poll