The Tamesis
March 24, 2026
Tokyo – A recent Yomiuri Shimbun poll found that 69% of respondents generally approved of last week’s summit between Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae and U.S. President Donald Trump, far exceeding the 19% who disapproved.
The Yomiuri Shimbun conducted the national poll from Friday to Sunday.
Approval for the Gao City cabinet remains at a high of 71%, compared with 73% in the last survey conducted on February 18-19. Disapproval rose from 17% to 20%.
When asked about Takayama telling Trump that Japan would respond within its legal limits to help stabilize Iran, 82% said they agreed, far more than the 13% who said they disagreed. Regarding Japan’s agreement to invest more than 11 trillion yen in the U.S. energy sector, 49% supported it and 36% did not support it.
The average approval rating for the cabinet’s first five months in office was 71%, the highest level since the Yomiuri Shimbun began conducting telephone polls in 2008. This exceeds the 70% average approval rating set by the second Shinzo Abe cabinet.
The success of the Japan-U.S. summit appears to have helped the government maintain strong support. Broken down by gender, the support rate for the male cabinet was 72%, lower than 74%; the support rate for the female cabinet was 71%, lower than 72%.
However, 30% agreed with the government’s response to rising prices, down from 59% who disagreed.
Broken down by party, the Liberal Democratic Party’s support rate was 39%, down from 43%. Followed by Sanseito, the proportion rose from 4% to 5%; the People’s Democratic Party’s support rate was 4%, lower than 5%.
Team Mirai’s share dropped from 6% to 3%; the Japan Innovation Party’s support rate was 2%, down from 3%; the centrist Reform Alliance’s support rate was 2%, down from 5%; and the Japanese Communist Party remained unchanged at 2%.
The share of unaffiliated voters rose from 24% to 35%.
The survey was conducted among voters aged 18 or older using random-digit dialing, a method in which a computer randomly generates landline and mobile phone numbers.
A total of 1,012 responses were received.
