TOKYO, (PNA/Kyodo) — The approval rating for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet stands at 63.3 percent, up from 61.8 percent last month, a Kyodo News survey showed Wednesday, despite the government’s recent decision to raise the politically sensitive sales tax.
In the latest survey, 53.3 percent of respondents said they support the increase in the country’s sales tax rate from the current 5 percent to 8 percent next April as planned, while 42.9 percent expressed opposition.
The telephone opinion poll, which was conducted Tuesday, the day Abe announced the tax hike, and Wednesday, also found that 48.5 percent said they do not have a positive assessment of the government’s 6 trillion yen economic stimulus package that is aimed at softening the possible negative impact of the tax hike.