Japan PM Kishida support rate dives to 40.8 per cent amid ID card push and childcare promises
2023.06.18 17:44The approval rating for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s cabinet plunged to 40.8 per cent, a Kyodo News poll showed on Sunday, with many in the public wary of the government’s push to expand the use of the national identification card, plagued with privacy concerns.The support rating was down from 47.0 per cent in the previous poll in late May, while the disapproval rating increased 5.7 points to 41.6 per cent, according to the two-day nationwide telephone survey conducted from Saturday.The poll showed that 71.6 per cent were either “worried” or “worried to some extent” about the expanding use of so-called My Number cards following a series of personal information leaks and registration errors regarding the system.No-confidence motion against Japan’s Kishida voted downA total of 72.1 per cent also called for the postponement or cancellation of the government’s plan to scrap health insurance cards and incorporate them into My Number cards in the fall of next year.Japan’s p
The approval rating for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s cabinet plunged to 40.8 per cent, a Kyodo News poll showed on Sunday, with many in the public wary of the government’s push to expand the use of the national identification card, plagued with privacy concerns.
The support rating was down from 47.0 per cent in the previous poll in late May, while the disapproval rating increased 5.7 points to 41.6 per cent, according to the two-day nationwide telephone survey conducted from Saturday.
The poll showed that 71.6 per cent were either “worried” or “worried to some extent” about the expanding use of so-called My Number cards following a series of personal information leaks and registration errors regarding the system.
No-confidence motion against Japan’s Kishida voted down
A total of 72.1 per cent also called for the postponement or cancellation of the government’s plan to scrap health insurance cards and incorporate them into My Number cards in the fall of next year.
Japan’s parliament enacted a law earlier this month to execute the integration. The move means everyone in Japan effectively will be required to obtain a My Number ID card, as Japan’s health insurance system covers all residents.
Under the My Number ID card system, launched in 2016, a 12-digit number is issued to each citizen and foreign resident of Japan to link a range of personal data, including tax and social security information.
Child care policy, which Kishida has called a priority, also does not appear to have helped boost the cabinet’s rating, with 66.3 per cent of surveyed respondents saying they have either “no expectations” or “do not expect much” from the government’s plan to increase spending on child care to slow Japan’s rapidly declining birth rate.
On Tuesday, Kishida held a press conference to provide details about the plan, including removing an income limit for child-rearing allowances and raising payments for paternal leave.
The government has pledged to boost annual spending on child care by around 3.5 trillion yen (US$25 billion), a level on par with nations like front-runner Sweden, through fiscal 2027, but the debt-saddled nation has yet to decide how it will be funded.
While Kishida has said he will devise a concrete plan to pay for the programme at the end of this year, 72.7 per cent said they are not convinced with his explanation.
The sluggish cabinet approval rating came after Kishida on Thursday ruled out dissolving the House of Representatives during the ongoing parliamentary session for a snap general election. The 150-day session ends next Wednesday.
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