Questions & answers (%)

(T = total; P = previous poll [conducted on Dec. 18, 2021]; M = male; F = female)

Q: Do you support the Kishida Cabinet?

Q: Do you approve of the Kishida administration’s handling of the novel coronavirus so far?

Q: Do you want to have a third dose of the COVID vaccine?

Q: How do you feel about the fact that the Omicron variant is spreading?

Q: Do you think it is necessary now to restrict economic activities, including restaurant hours and the holding of events, to counter the spread of COVID-19?

Q: The government initially required all people with the Omicron variant of COVID-19 to be hospitalized but has revised its policy to allow patients to recuperate at designated accommodations or at home. Do you approve of this?

Q: COVID-19 cases have risen rapidly at U.S. military bases in Japan, including those in Okinawa and Yamaguchi Prefectures. In response, the Japanese government requested the United States to ramp up testing and restrict personnel from going outside the bases. What do you think about the government’s handling of the matter?

Q: Do you think the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement, which provides for the handling of relations with the U.S. military, needs to be revised?

Q: The Beijing Winter Olympic Games will be held in February. What do you think about that?

Q: This September marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between Japan and China. Are you optimistic that Japan-China ties will start to improve this year?

Q: Which political party do you support?

Q: An Upper House election will be held this summer. Which political party do you plan to vote for in the proportional representation segment of that election?

Notes: 1. Figures rounded off. “0” indicates that the figure was below 0.5%, and “–” denotes that no respondents gave that answer. “No answer” omitted.

[(2) On Jan. 20, the “Party Fighting against NHK in the Trial for Violating Article 72 of the Attorney Act (NHK Party)” changed its name to the “Party That Protects People Who Do Not Pay the NHK License Fee (NHK Party).”]

Polling methodology: The survey was conducted by the Social Survey Research Center and the Mainichi Shimbun on Jan. 22, 2022, of those 18 years old or older. A computer-aided random digit sampling (RDS) method was used to generate phone numbers (both landlines and cell phones) randomly by computer, and an interactive voice response system was used to call those numbers. For mobile phones, people were asked through audio guidance to cooperate in the survey, and those who agreed to participate were sent a short message service (SMS) text message providing a link to an online answer form. For landline phones, respondents were asked questions by interactive voice response system and pushed buttons on their phones to indicate their answer. The target number of valid responses was set at 700 for mobile phones and 300 for landlines phones. Valid responses were received from 748 mobile numbers and 313 landline phone numbers.