Two weeks have already passed since the reins of government shifted from Keizo Obuchi to Yoshiro Mori. Nothing surprising has come out of recent opinion polls, which have generally shown that the new government is approved by about 40 percent of the public and disapproved by some 30 percent. A survey by NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), in particular, showed 39 percent of the respondents approving of the Mori Cabinet and 31 percent disapproving, while 30 percent said they didn't know.
The initial approval rate of most Cabinets in the past has been around 40 percent. The Cabinets headed by Kakuei Tanaka and Morihiro Hosokawa enjoyed unusually high approval rates of 60 percent and 70 percent, respectively, at their inception, while the Obuchi Cabinet started with a low approval rate of less than 30 percent. Support for the Obuchi government shot up to nearly 50 percent last August when the financial crisis ended, but dwindled to nearly 30 percent when a coalition government was formed by the Liberal Democratic Party, the Liberal Party and New Komeito.
If these past records are any yardstick, the Mori government started in a passable manner, and what it has accomplished during the past two weeks may be described as either smooth or unexciting. It may be that the sympathy felt for former Prime Minister Obuchi, who is still in coma, has given additional support to Mori.