Kishida at odds with other LDP members over COVID-19 and foreign policy

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is facing growing criticism from within his Liberal Democratic Party, as influential members criticize him over issues ranging from strict border controls due to the coronavirus to the UNESCO registration for the Sado gold and silver mines.

With media polls showing Kishida’s support rate is declining, questions about who is in charge — the prime minister or his party — are growing.

Last week, a Jiji Press poll showed Kishida’s support rate at 43.4%, down 8.3 percentage points from the rate in January. Worse, the percentage of respondents who said they did not support him rose 6.6 percentage points last month to 25.3% last week. While a Kyodo News poll released earlier this week showed that 56.6% of respondents did support Kishida, that hasn’t stopped the LDP from facing public criticism over several issues.