Japanese PM Ishiba’s poll ratings rebound, more respondents think he should ‘remain’ than ‘resign’

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s poll ratings have rebounded a month after disastrous election results left his premiership hanging by a thread, a clutch of surveys suggested Monday.

Ishiba took the helm of the long-dominant Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) last year and has since lost his majority in both houses of parliament, most recently in upper chamber elections in July.

But the self-confessed defence policy “geek” and maker of model ships has defied calls to resign from within the party, which has governed Japan almost non-stop since the 1950s.

According to one poll by the Yomiuri Shimbun daily published Monday, the approval rating for Ishiba’s cabinet was 39 percent, a remarkable 17 points higher than after the July 20 vote.

It was the biggest jump for a government since the telephone survey began in 2008, except for after prime minister changes, the Yomiuri said.

More respondents (50 percent) now think Ishiba should remain than resign (42 percent), the questionnaire showed, a reversal from July, when 54 percent said he should go and 35 percent stay.