TOKYO, October 18. /TASS/. For the first time since coming to power in October 2025, less than half of the Japanese -- 49.1% -- have expressed support for the government led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, a Kyodo news agency survey said.

Over a third of the participants, or 33%, did not support Takaichi’s cabinet, while 17.9% of the respondents abstained from answering.

Almost 58% of the respondents believe that the prime minister was too late with dismissing Kazuo Yana, the minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, who found himself at the center of a scandal after threats to cut state funding for the local authorities, which did not support him in the latest general elections. He was also suspected of violating electoral legislation by providing free buses to transport his supporters during the elections.

At the same time, 54.7% of those surveyed believe that the Kazuo Yana scandal will have some degree of impact on the future political fate of the Takaichi government. According to Kyodo, this incident could become the main reason for the decline in the cabinet’s popularity.

More than 65% of the polled said they are concerned about the government’s plan to reduce the consumer food tax from the current 8% to 1% for two years, Takaichi’s pre·election promise, which was generally met with approval. However, the respondents now fear that the tax cut will undermine the country’s finances and will hurt other social spending.

The survey was conducted on October 17 and 18 across Japan by phone. The number of participants is not specified.