Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has replaced two cabinet ministers in just three weeks as he seeks to lift his approval rate that has sunk to new lows. There may not be any immediate risk to the administration, however, as National Diet elections are not scheduled until 2025, and a race for Liberal Democratic Party president is not due until September 2024.

Kishida has been hurt by problems that, while not directly of his own making, have been exacerbated by perceptions that he is weak and indecisive. “If Mr Kishida had demonstrated his leadership and responded far sooner, I don’t think his approval rating would have fallen so far,” Research Director Sota Kato told the Straits Times.

Kishida removed Justice Ministers Yasuhiro Hanashi for gaffes regarding the death penalty and Economic Revitalization Minister Daishiro Yamagiwa for his ties to the Unification Church. “These issues are dominating the news, giving the public a negative impression that Mr Kishida is reacting to the momentum of the issue rather than being decisive.”

“Can Japan PM Kishida find a way out of his ratings slump?” Straits Times
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/can-japan-pm-kishida-find-a-way-out-of-his-ratings-slump

Profile of Research Director Sota Kato
https://www.tkfd.or.jp/en/experts/detail.php?id=29