In a poll conducted by The Yomiuri Shimbun ahead of the upcoming election for the Tokyo metropolitan assembly, Gov. Yuriko Koike garnered high support among Tokyo residents but opinion was divided on the capital's response to the novel coronavirus.
Support has failed to grow for the regional political party Tomin First no Kai, which saw 55 of its official or recommended candidates win in the last election in 2017. The popularity of Koike, the founder of the party, has not bolstered the strength of Tomin First.
A total of 127 seats will be contested in the election, scheduled for July 4.
Koike's approval rating was 57% in the latest poll. This was down from 69% in the survey conducted ahead of the 2017 elections, but Koike has widespread support. She was backed, for example, by 56% of respondents who said they would vote for the Liberal Democratic Party, and around 60% each of those who said they would vote for Komeito or the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.
Opinion was split on the Tokyo metropolitan government's response to the coronavirus crisis, with 45% saying they approved and 48% saying they did not.
The most common reason for approving was "Koike is showing leadership" at 77%, while the top reason given for dissatisfaction was "the scope of requests for business closures and shorter hours, and the compensation provided are inappropriate" at 80%. Multiple answers were allowed.
Only 11% of the respondents chose Tomin First as the party they would vote for in the metropolitan assembly election. This represented a large gap with the LDP, which was chosen by 30% of respondents.
Among those who said they would support Koike, only 19% said they would vote for Tomin First, compared to 29% who said they would vote for the LDP. Among respondents who do not support any party, 13% said they would vote for Tomin First and 10% for the LDP.
Koike has not yet made her stance on the election clear, and her actions will likely determine the outcome.
The Cabinet of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga had the approval of 31% of respondents, while 61% said they did not approve of the Cabinet.
The Yomiuri Shimbun conducted the poll from Friday to Sunday by calling random phone numbers in Tokyo. It obtained answers from 1,001 respondents out of 1,607 households that it confirmed exist.
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