Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks to the media at her official residence in Tokyo, Japan on May 25, 2026. (Photo: Reuters/Kyodo)
27 Jul 2026 11:17AM
TOKYO: The approval rating of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's administration slumped in July to the lowest level since she took office last year, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Sunday (Jul 26), a sign that rising living costs were hitting her popularity.The sliding popularity adds to headaches for Takaichi, who has seen her expansionary fiscal and monetary policy bias cause a spike in bond yields and a slump in the yen to four-decade lows.Such market pressures and opposition even from within her own ruling party have delayed the government's decision on whether and when to cut an 8 per cent levy on food sales - a pledge Takaichi made to cushion the blow from rising living costs.In a poll conducted between Jul 24 and Jul 26, the approval rating for Takaichi's administration fell to 57 per cent, down from 69 per cent in June and the first time it has dropped below 60 per cent since she took office, Yomiuri said.
The percentage that disapproved of her administration rose to 34 per cent from 21 per cent in June, the newspaper said.Those polled who disapproved of her administration's efforts to combat the rising costs of living rose to 71 per cent, up from 56 per cent, it said.
