Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister’s Office, in Tokyo, Japan, 25 June 2026. Photo by JIJI PRESS / EPA
July 20 (Asia Today) -- Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's approval ratings fell in two major media polls conducted immediately after Parliament approved revisions to the Imperial House Law.
The legislation maintained the principle that only men descended through the male line may succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne. Both polls also found that negative views of the revisions outweighed positive assessments.
The surveys alone, however, do not establish that the legislation directly caused the decline in support for Takaichi's Cabinet.
A Mainichi Shimbun poll conducted Saturday and Sunday placed the Cabinet's approval rating at 41%, down 10 percentage points from 51% in June.
