2023-08-11 21:00:00
Kishida’s Cabinet’s Approval Rating Continues to Fall, Yet No Momentum for a Change of Government
On August 4, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a press conference on minor health insurance cards, etc. (Photo: Representative photo/Archyde.com/Aflo)
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(Yoichi Masuzoe: Scholar of International Politics)
The deterioration of Japanese politics continues. The Kishida Cabinet’s approval rating continues to fall, but the opposition parties continue to be divided into small parties, and it is not even possible to discuss the possibility of a change of government. What will happen to Japanese politics in the midst of a mountain of domestic and foreign challenges?
The cause of the decline in the cabinet approval rating is the trouble of my number
The approval rating of the Kishida Cabinet is sluggish. According to public opinion polls by the media, the disapproval rate for the Cabinet is higher than the approval rate for the Cabinet in July. Let’s put them in order of approval and disapproval. NHK (survey period July 7-9) 38.2%, 40.6%, Kyodo News (14-16th) 34.3%, 48.6%, Asahi Shimbun (15-16th) 37%, 50%, Yomiuri Shimbun (21st to 23rd) is 36% and 52%, and Nikkei Shimbun (28th to 30th) is 40% and 51%.
In August, according to the Jiji Press public opinion poll conducted from 4 to 7, the Cabinet’s approval rating fell to 26.6 (-4.2)% for the third consecutive month. The disapproval rate is 47.4 (+8.1)%. The political party approval rating is 21.1% for the Liberal Democratic Party, and the total with the Cabinet approval rating is 47.7%, which is less than 50%. This is the collapse of the government according to “Aoki’s Law”. It’s just a red light.
The biggest reason for this unpopularity is the response to problems with the My Number Card. At a press conference on August 4, Prime Minister Kishida said that regarding the timing of abolishing the health insurance card and integrating it into the My Number Card, a decision on whether to postpone the abolition date, which was set to fall next year, will be made following autumn this year. I decided to postpone it. Opinions are divided even within the ruling party on how to respond, and the situation is such that it is impossible to make a decision.
On the 8th, the government released an interim report on the “linking” of My Numbers, but it is said that 1,069 new cases of errors in linking to health insurance cards were found. Combined with the mistakes made so far, the total is 8441. In addition, 5 new cases were found in which personal information such as prescribed medicines was incorrectly linked and viewed by others, for a total of 15 cases. In addition, there were 118 cases of errors in linking mutual aid pensions. In addition, 2883 mistakes were found in the handbook for the disabled.
It is said that the comprehensive inspection will be completed by the end of November, but since this is the number in the interim report, it is unclear how far the mistakes will spread. Local governments are responsible for the work related to My Number card registration, but some say that it is natural for the burden on those in charge to increase and human error to occur.
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