The approval rating for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet plunged by 9.7 percentage points from June to 37.7 percent — the lowest since he returned to power in December 2012 — as the ruling camp rammed controversial security bills through the Lower House despite objections by a majority of the public, a Kyodo News poll showed Saturday.
The disapproval rating also jumped to 51.6 percent from 43.0 percent last month, surpassing the approval rating.
In the telephone survey conducted Friday and Saturday, 73.3 percent of respondents said they do not support the way the security bills were passed, while 21.4 percent expressed support.