According to the NHK public opinion survey [for the month of April], 47% of pollees support the Abe cabinet, up by 5 percentage points from the previous month. Those saying they do not support the cabinet decreased by 1 point to reach 35%.
The nationwide survey was conducted by NHK over the three-day period of April 5–7 on a computer-aided random digit dialing (RDD) basis and targeted men and women aged 18 or over with calls placed to landline and mobile phone numbers. Valid responses were received from 1,250 of the 2,292 people polled. The valid response rate was 55%.
When asked why they support the Abe cabinet, 51% of respondents said “because it seems better than other cabinets,” while 15% said “because the cabinet is led by the political party I support.”
Asked why they do not support the cabinet, 45% said “because the prime minister is untrustworthy,” while 28% said “because nothing can be expected of its policy measures.”
Asked for their views on “Reiwa” as the new name of the era after Heisei, 30% said they “feel very positive” about the new era name and 51% said they “feel somewhat positive” while 11% said they “do not feel very positive about it” and 3% said they “do not feel positive at all” about it.
Reiwa is the first era name to be taken from the Manyoshu, a Japanese classic. Some 63% said they “approve” of this while 3% said they “disapprove” and 30% said they are “undecided.”
Asked whether they use the era name or the Gregorian calendar more frequently in their everyday lives, 38% of respondents said they use the “era name” more while 21% said they use the “Gregorian calendar” more and 36% said they “use the two about the same amount.”
Some 19% said “Japan moved in a positive direction during the Heisei era” while 18% said “Japan headed in a negative direction” and 60% said they are “undecided.”
Although former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn was released on bail at one point, the Special Investigation Department of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office has re-arrested him on charges of aggravated breach of trust. Asked if his re-arrest is problematic, some 15% said “yes,” while 41% said “no,” and 34% said they are “undecided.”
In last month’s Monthly Economic Report, the government upheld its assessment that the current Japanese economy is recovering at a moderate pace overall, although it downwardly revised the assessment for the first time in three years. Asked if they think Japan continues to be in economic recovery, 10% of respondents said “yes” while 51% said “no” and 32% said they are “undecided.”
