The support rate for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet rose 4.3 points in January from the previous month to 53.7 percent, a Kyodo News poll showed Sunday.

The disapproval rate came in at 35.3 percent, down 2.9 points from the previous poll.

In the nationwide telephone survey Saturday and Sunday, 67.3 percent of the respondents also said economy minister Akira Amari, who resigned Thursday over a bribery scandal, was right to step down from his post, while 28.5 percent said he did not need to quit.