Ishiba Cabinet Disapproval Rises to 44 Pct: Jiji Poll

Tokyo, March 13 (Jiji Press)--The public disapproval rate for Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's cabinet rose 4.0 percentage points from the previous month to 44.1 pct in March, a Jiji Press opinion poll showed Thursday.

It was the highest level since the launch of his administration in October last year.

The approval rate fell 0.6 percentage point to 27.9 pct, remaining below the key threshold of 30 pct, which indicates that the administration is in the "danger zone."

The survey found that 45.4 pct of respondents approved an agreement among the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito and the opposition Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) to scrap the income cap in a program to make high school education free. Meanwhile, 33.2 pct viewed the deal negatively.

The LDP-Komeito ruling bloc's decision to raise the taxable income threshold to 1.6 million yen per year was supported by 48.8 pct and opposed by 25.4 pct.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]