Support for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet soared after he announced his resignation and his right-hand man Yoshihide Suga emerged last week as the most likely candidate to replace him, according to two polls published Monday.
Cabinet support rose 27 percentage points to 62.4 percent in a survey carried out by news network JNN, and by 15 percentage points to 52 percent in a poll by the Yomiuri Shimbun. The polls signal public support for Abe’s overall record-setting run as prime minister, and an acceptance of the handover to Suga, who is expected to take over in mid-September and continue Abe’s policies, including monetary easing.
While the popularity of Abe’s Cabinet had been sagging for months amid a series of scandals and criticism of its handling of the pandemic, 74 percent of the Yomiuri poll respondents said they had a positive overall view of his nearly eight-year tenure, while 24 percent said they saw it negatively.