The public approval rating for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet has taken a 9.1-point plunge since June and now stands at 35.8 percent — the lowest since he took office in December 2012, a poll conducted by Kyodo News showed Sunday.
According to the poll, 77.8 percent of respondents were not convinced by the government's denials that Abe used his influence to get a new veterinary department approved at a university run by Kake Gakuen, an institution headed by his close friend, by interfering in the administrative process. Only 15.4 percent said they were satisfied by the explanations.
As for Abe retaining Defense Minister Tomomi Inada, who broke the ethical separation of military and state, 73.1 percent said the decision was inappropriate and 21.8 percent backed it. Inada has come under fire since implying the Self-Defense Forces would back a candidate from Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party during the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election.