According to the survey, the cabinet is not supported by the majority of Japanese citizens for the second consecutive month, even though the disapproval rating declined by 4.5 percent and amounted to 44.1 percent in August.
Asked about reasons for supporting the cabinet, the majority of respondents (18.3 percent) said that "there were no better candidates for the position," followed by 9.5 percent saying that "there is strong leadership," and 8.3 percent naming their trust in the prime minister as a reason for their approval of the cabinet.
At the same time, 26.7 percent of those who disapprove the new cabinet claimed that their views could be attributed to the fact that they "could not trust the prime minister," while 21 percent of respondents confessed that they "do not expect anything good from the cabinet."
The survey was carried out on August 3-6 and involved 2,000 adults.
On August 3, Abe reshuffled the cabinet, appointing new defense, interior and foreign ministers among others. The move was aimed at restoring the public support of the ruling party and its government after the recent scandals over Abe's favoritism allegations and the party's defeat to the opposition parties' candidates in mayoral elections in city of Sendai, in the northwestern Miyagi prefecture, and Tokyo metropolitan assembly election in July.
