Public support for Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's government has fallen to a record low after it was revealed he handed out gift vouchers to ruling party lawmakers, a survey by the Asahi newspaper showed, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
The approval rating fell 14 percentage points to 26% from the previous survey in February, the worst result since Ishiba took office in October last year, the Asahi survey showed on March 15-16.
Other surveys by the Yomiuri newspapers and Mainichi over the weekend also showed that public approval ratings for Ishiba's cabinet had fallen to a record low.
Ishiba has found himself in a sticky situation after earlier this month he handed out gift vouchers worth 100,000 yen ($673) each to 15 first-time lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) who were entering the lower house of parliament, drawing criticism.
Speaking in parliament, Ishiba said he used "pocket money" to hand out gift vouchers to lawmakers before having dinner with them on March 3 as a "thank you" gesture. for their hard work in getting them elected.
The prime minister said the gift-giving did not violate the political finance law, but apologized that his action had caused "distrust and anger among many people."
According to Japanese media, all 15 lawmakers returned the gift vouchers to Ishiba's office.
The drop in opinion polls could be a blow to Ishiba's leadership ahead of an upper house election scheduled for July and comes at a time when Japan's economy faces headwinds from an escalating trade war led by U.S. President Donald Trump, Reuters notes.