Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has marked one year in office still riding relatively high in public opinion polls – a heady position that few political analysts anticipated despite geopolitical tensions and persistent inflation.
A poll by the conservative-leaning Yomiuri newspaper published on Monday indicated that Takaichi’s cabinet retains the support of 57 per cent of the Japanese public, down two percentage points from the previous survey on September 18 and significantly lower than the 73 per cent recorded in December and February, but still a figure that her predecessors would have envied.
Takaichi has certainly hit some bumps on the political road over the last year, including firing her agriculture minister last week over allegations that he refused to fund municipalities that did not support him.
Analysts, however, agree that Takaichi has shown remarkable resilience. The question is how long she can retain support from both the electorate and her ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), where discontent is simmering within some factions.