New Opinion Poll Highs for a New Prime Minister

Off to a Strong Start

Liberal Democratic Party President Takaichi Sanae was selected as prime minister on October 21. During the week from then through October 28, Japan’s media organizations carried out public opinion polls that found significantly high support ratings for the country’s new premier—with Kyōdō News, at the low end, turning up 64.4% approval, and the Sankei Shimbun, on the high end, finding fully 75.4% of respondents in support of the new administration.

Analysis accompanying the survey results in the Mainichi Shimbun noted that “the prime minister is strongly supported particularly by younger generations,” while the Nikkei reported that “she has strong numbers among the working-age cohort that has traditionally been a weaker source of support for her LDP.” Other media sources similarly found broad support for Takaichi among younger and middle-aged survey respondents.

All the polling companies reported disapproval ratings for the new administration of around 20%, representing a drop of some 30 percentage points from the disapproval numbers earned by the administration of the previous prime minister, Ishiba Shigeru, toward the end of his term.

Performing Well Against Her Peers

Nippon.com compared Takaichi’s support ratings at the launch of her administration with those for the four previous prime ministers: Abe Shinzō (his term beginning in December 2012), Suga Yoshihide (September 2020), Kishida Fumio (October 2021), and Ishiba Shigeru (October 2024). Three newspapers (the Asahi Shimbun, Mainichi, and Sankei) pegged her approval levels at the top of this list, and the Nikkei placed her alongside Suga’s administration at its launch, with 74% approval.

In its analysis, the Yomiuri Shimbun wrote that Takaichi’s 71% initial approval rating for her administration placed her fifth among all cabinets since that of Ōhira Masayoshi, formed in 1978. According to Yomiuri, the all-time high was marked by Koizumi Jun’ichirō (87%, in 2001); second was Hatoyama Yukio (75%, 2009), third was Suga Yoshihide (74%, 2020), and fourth was Hosokawa Morihiro (72%, 1993). Asahi, meanwhile, wrote that her 68% approval rating placed her third among all new administrations formed since the turn of the century.

Approval Ratings for Newly Launched Administrations

Looking at the top reasons given by respondents for supporting Takaichi, the Yomiuri, Asahi, Nikkei, and Sankei all had “the prime minister’s policies,” while Mainichi had “her leadership” and Kyōdō had “public confidence in her.” In all surveys, the issues respondents hoped to see her new administration tackle first included rising consumer prices and the economy.

Attention also focused on Takaichi’s status as the first woman ever to serve as Japan’s prime minister. The Mainichi poll found 61% of respondents “looking forward to her performance” in office, and fully 76.5% of Kyōdō’s poll respondents said they welcomed her rise to the top from the perspective of female participation in politics.

(Originally written in Japanese. Banner photo: Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae poses with US President Donald Trump aboard the US Navy aircraft carrier George Washington in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, on October 28, 2025. Pool photo; © Jiji.)