Kishida’s priorities
Mr Kishida has adopted a markedly more sceptical view towards China than in the past as he tries to hedge the risks of the very strong dependence that Japan has on the Chinese market.
The support rate for Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s cabinet has decreased to 35.9 per cent, hitting an all-time low since he took office last year, a Kyodo News poll revealed.
The poll on Sunday showed signs of public discontent with the government’s determination to hold the Tokyo Olympic Games amid the Covid-19 pandemic, reports Xinhua news agency.
The disapproval rating rose to 49.8 per cent, the highest on record for the Suga administration.
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In the two-day survey over the weekend, 87.0 per cent of the surveyed expressed concern over Tokyo hosting the Olympics and Paralympics amid the health crisis.
Meanwhile, 67.9 per cent of the respondents held doubt about the effectiveness of the latest state of emergency over the pandemic in the capital city.
Regarding the retraction of a government proposal to request lenders and liquor wholesalers to help enforce a ban on restaurants serving alcohol during the state of emergency, 72.3 per cent said Suga was responsible for the confusion caused, while 26.1 per cent said Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister in charge of the Covid-19 response, who proposed the plan, should step down.
With the government slowing down Covid-19 inoculations as vaccine supply is expected to remain limited in the coming months, 58.5 per cent said they were dissatisfied with the rollout, according to the Kyodo News poll.
On the government’s coronavirus measures in general, 64.2 per cent said they do not support them, while 33.9 per cent said they do.
In the previous survey conducted last month, the support rate for Suga’s cabinet stood at 44.0 per cent, while 42.2 per cent expressed disapproval.
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