AP file photo
Lawmakers applaud as Sanae Takaichi, center, is named the prime minister during an extraordinary session of the House of Representatives on Oct. 21.
1:00 JST, November 4, 2025
The initial approval rating of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Cabinet was 71%, the fifth highest since 1978.
The results of The Yomiuri Shimbun’s latest opinion poll also indicated that the Cabinet was well-received among younger people, those who support the Liberal Democratic Party and voters with no political affiliation. This was also seen in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and the second Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which were both long-term administrations.
The survey was conducted on Oct. 21 and 22, the day of and the day after the Takaichi Cabinet’s inauguration. The Yomiuri Shimbun has conducted public opinion surveys soon after the inauguration of new cabinets since Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira took office in 1978.
By age bracket, the approval rating for the Takaichi Cabinet was 80% among respondents aged 18 to 39, 75% among those aged 40 to 59 and 63% among those aged 60 or older. By gender, the approval rating was 71% among men and 72% among women. It also had an approval rating of 88% among LDP supporters and 63% among voters with no political affiliation.
Among the administrations since 1978, the Koizumi Cabinet, which was in place from April 2001 to September 2006, recorded the highest initial approval rating of 87%, as well as 84% among independent voters.
The average approval rating for the Cabinet was 56%. By age group, it was 54% among respondents aged 20 to 39, 53% for those aged 40 to 59 and 61% among those aged 60 or older, showing broad cross-generational support.
The average approval rating was 56% among both men and women, as well as 84% among LDP supporters and 42% among independent voters. The Cabinet therefore received broad support across gender, while also enjoying solid approval among LDP supporters.
Th Koizumi Cabinet suffered a drastic drop in approval in February 2002, following the dismissal of then Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka primarily for causing confusion through her handling of scandals at the ministry. Approval dropped to 53% from 78% the previous month. The most significant decline was seen among non-partisans, falling from 71% to 41%.
The approval rating for the second Abe Cabinet — from December 2012 to September 2020 — was 65% immediately after launch and had a 53% average across its term. By age group, the average approval rating was 59% among respondents aged 18 (or 20 until March 2016, when the voting age was lowered) to 39, 53% among those aged 40 to 59 and 51% aged among those aged 60 or older, showing comparatively stronger support among younger people.
Approval was 58% among men and 49% among women, indicating a clear difference by gender, unlike in the Koizumi Cabinet. While enjoying 89% support among LDP supporters, the second Abe administration failed to win over a large share of voters with no political affiliation, with an approval rating of only 30% of them.
In July 2017, the second Abe Cabinet’s approval rating fell to 36%, from 49% the previous month. Around this time, Abe was questioned in relation to the establishment of a new veterinary department at a university operated by Kake Educational Institution. While the approval rating for the Cabinet remained relatively high among LDP supporters, at 81%, and younger voters, at 44%, it dropped to 16% among non-partisan voters.
Abe’s first administration — from September 2006 to September 2007 — enjoyed a high initial approval rating of 70% immediately after launch. This good start was short-lived, as the Cabinet was tainted by a series of scandals involving Cabinet members and missing pension records. By the time it was disbanded, the approval rating had fallen to 29% — 22% among young people, 71% among LDP supporters and 13% among independents voters.
