Takaichi Cabinet support at 53.4% after reshuffle, up 3.2 points from Aug.

A Kyodo News poll released Friday indicated that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Cabinet approval rating increased 3.2 percentage points from August to 53.4 percent following a reshuffle earlier that day. The survey, conducted over two days via nationwide telephone calls, showed that 63.1 percent of respondents believed the proposed reduction of the consumption tax on food and beverages from 8 percent to 1 percent for two years starting April would have only a small impact on easing inflation's effect on households. Disapproval of Takaichi's Cabinet was reported at 30.9 percent.

The reshuffle marked the first time Takaichi, who assumed office in October of the previous year, had reorganized her Cabinet and the executive of her ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since taking office. It also resulted in the appointment of the first lawmaker from the ruling coalition's junior partner, the Japan Innovation Party, to a Cabinet minister position. This development was viewed positively by 61.8 percent of respondents.

However, 66.6 percent of those polled disagreed with Takaichi's decision to assign Cabinet posts to two lawmakers who had previously been disciplined by the LDP for their involvement in a high-profile political slush fund scandal that surfaced in 2023 and severely damaged the ruling party.