Japan LDP Shaken by Low Public Support for Ishiba Cabinet

Tokyo, Oct. 19 (Jiji Press)--Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been shaken by the low public support rating for new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's cabinet shown by the recent Jiji Press poll.

"It's an extremely tough election. We are doing it in the face of unprecedented headwinds," Ishiba said on Thursday in Saku, Nagano Prefecture, in a speech for an LDP candidate in the Oct. 27 election for the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, the country's parliament. He apologized for his party's massive slush fund scandal, saying, "Please forgive us."

In October's Jiji poll, whose results were announced Thursday, public support for the Ishiba cabinet stood at 28.0 pct, alarming many in the LDP since a support rating under 30 pct is said to signal that the administration is in the "danger zone."

Ishiba had often been the most favorite pick for the next prime minister in public opinion polls. The expectations from the public now seem to have faded.

"No matter who does it, it's difficult now," a close aide to Ishiba said, showing frustration with the unabated criticism of the LDP over the fund scandal.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]