One year in, Takaichi administration’s public support remains largely intact

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will mark one year in office on Wednesday, with her public support largely intact in major opinion polls, even after a scandal forced the administration to see its first minister resign a week earlier.

A Yomiuri Shimbun poll conducted from Friday through Sunday put Cabinet approval at 57%, down just two percentage points from September. The Asahi Shimbun recorded a similar modest decline to 50%, while a Sankei-FNN survey showed support edging up to 62.6%.

Some painted a less reassuring picture. ANN’s poll saw approval plunge 11.2 points to 47.1%, while Kyodo News put it at 49.1%, the first reading below 50%.

Even so, nearly half of respondents continued to back her Cabinet despite days of intense parliamentary grilling over the agriculture minister’s scandal.

Takaichi’s approval rating also compares favorably with those of her immediate predecessors at similar points in their tenures. Yomiuri polls, for instance, put support for Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet at 45% in October 2022, shortly before his first anniversary in office, and Shigeru Ishiba’s at 34% in September 2025, roughly two weeks before his.

The latest numbers came amid mounting scrutiny over former agriculture minister Kazuo Yana, who acknowledged claiming to have cut road funding for municipalities whose leaders had not supported him in an election. He denied intervening in actual budget allocations.

Yana also faced allegations of possible election law violations over a free shuttle bus that catered to transport his supporters during two separate election campaigns.

The affair became a central point of contention during parliamentary budget committee hearings, putting the prime minister’s judgement and handling of the scandal under intense scrutiny.

Having initially defended Yana’s continuation in office, Takaichi appeared to shift her position as further allegations surfaced, suggesting by early last week that she would reconsider whether he should remain in his post.

Yana stepped down last Wednesday, less than a month after joining the Cabinet.

Political insiders feared that Yana’s appointment, coupled with growing allegations of misconduct, could deal a serious blow to Takaichi’s administration.

Still, public disapproval of Yana did not necessarily translate into a broader rejection of the Cabinet.

Even ANN’s poll, which recorded the sharpest decline in overall Cabinet approval, found that 43% considered Takaichi’s handling of the Yana scandal appropriate, compared with 38% who disagreed.

In Yomiuri’s survey, 82% said his dismissal was justified, but respondents were evenly divided over whether the prime minister bore significant responsibility.