While 56% of respondents to a recent survey conducted by The Yomiuri Shimbun said they were not satisfied with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's explanation of why the government rejected six candidates recommended as new members by the Science Council of Japan, 33 percent said they were satisfied with the explanation, showing that Suga had obtained public understanding to some extent.
Respondents who said they were not satisfied by Suga's explanations exceeded the number of those who said they were satisfied in all age groups and regardless of the party they support.
Even so, a 59% majority of the respondents who said they were not satisfied also said they supported the Suga Cabinet.
In the Diet, opposition parties are increasingly critical of the ruling bloc in relation to the issue of the rejected appointments, but the impact on Suga's handling of the government is likely to be limited.
Regarding the government's policy of subjecting the science council to administrative reforms and reviewing its organization, those who supported the move increased to 70% in the latest survey, up from 58% in the previous poll on Oct. 16-18. Respondents who did not support the move decreased to 19% from 26%. The results showed the public is becoming more understanding about the need for organizational reform.
Regarding the novel coronavirus pandemic, 56% of respondents supported the government's response to the crisis. The same question has appeared in seven opinion polls since March this year. The figure this time matched that in the previous survey, which was the highest ever.
Asked until when they would like Suga to hold his post as prime minister, 37% answered "until the end of his term as Liberal Democratic Party president in September next year," compared with 32% who said so in a survey conducted Sept. 19-20, immediately after the inauguration of the Suga Cabinet.
Those who said he should hold the post "as long as he can" accounted for 24%, compared with 28% in September. Those who said it should be "about two years" accounted for 19%, compared with 16%, while those who said "about three years," accounted for 14%, also compared with 16%.
The results show that the number of people who want a long-term Suga administration has yet to increase.
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