Abe cabinet support rate falls to 47.6% amid pension system controversy

Wonder where they get 47.6% approval rating. Haven't met or heard of anyone (Japanese) that approves of him since he was 'given' the position. ........... except Ganbare Japan!

It absolutely does not matter in this faux-democracy. Why are polls even made anyway?

One thing is sure; surviving in Japan is becoming tougher and tougher!

I am amazed that it is still at 47%! Abe has done a great job of pulling the wool over everyone's eyes and keeping it there for so long!

Voter turn out is less than his approval rating, so it's a huge misnomer. More than half the population can't get time off to vote and if, if they did get time off there are more pressing jobs to be done.

The one good thing to come of this is the LDPs voter base shrinks daily. Age is a killer.

The phenomenon of dishonest Abe's purported "popularity" may be based on faulty polling methods and the notorious difficulty of getting a straight answer from the Japanese. "Honest" Abe with his famous dictum, " you can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time" might also offer a clue to solving the conundrum: because still too many of the overworked and exhausted electorate have been mesmerized and manipulated for so long by right-wing hucksters and shysters, it's just taking more time than many of us would have wished for the last part of Lincoln's apothegm to kick in and kick Abe and his ilk out.

I don't believe these telephone polls. There is no way, these are real statistics. Either way, Abe will do something good again this week and his ratings will shoot up, like after the Morimoto Gakuen scandal....everyone wanted his head, they even protested but he survived. Just draw the peoples attention somewhere else and they will forget all about the school scandal and the data cover up. Rinse and repeat.

Probably asked a question like: "You really like Abe don't you?" and then made them feel like crap for having to answer no!

When you look at the state of the opposition it makes no difference. The LDP is here to stay. Tepid stability and muchofthesameness is both desired and engrained. Not exactly the most creative of political landscapes is it? 47 percent is a surprising number though especially as so many people seem to not like the guy, but feel powerless to hope for anything better. The slow and aging ship sails on.

" Haven't met or heard of anyone (Japanese) that approves of him "

except for the 40 million Japanese- included myself -that voted for Abe.

except for the 40 million Japanese- included myself -that voted for Abe.

40 million out of a population of 127 million doesn't represent the sentiment of all the people. Abe is as much use as a chocolate fire guard. Aso is just an idiot who should be put out to pasture.

"40 million out of a population of 127 million "

First it a population of 125 million. The 2 million are foreigners and they can't vote.

Second, its eligible voters. Do you what that means?

What is there to support? Not one of his promises has happened!

wages are retreating, prices up, taxes up.....

still waiting for daycare

but his mates get a go for an unwanted vet university or cheep land for a right wing Childcare.

familys on the edge of poverty.

Internationally sidelined.

So what is it? Why does this government made up of silver spoon out of touch old men continue to be even relevant let alone a percentage in a option poll.

I wonder what it is so surprising. There is not any reliable opposition parties, just simple as that.

2nd best, probably CDP now has ad-tower: a person who actually got convicted guilty of fraud.

who did they call what was the sample size what was the error 19 times out of 20?

Let me get this straight: the public is angry at the prime minister because a govt report told a statistical truth. All pension contributors need to do is to go online, open their account and the amount they'll be receiving after 65 is right there. Or they can inquire at their local pension office. Why now is it suddenly a shock?

I know that I'll be getting around 76,000 yen a month, and thus my retirement nest egg is way, way bigger than 20 million yen. it would be ludicrous for me to get angry at the current PM, since the basic pension in my home country isn't much different.

Doesnt say much about the Japanese public.

Makes no difference , the army of farmers and pensioners will keep voting the LDP daimyos no matter how much they get screwed....this slowly sinking ship is beyond help.

exactly!

The problem is the mindset...from personal lives, to workplaces to politics.

They all want something new, something different, something positive....BUT they WILL NOT change their methods. A close minded culture will eventually drag this nation to the dirt if they do not adapt or change their way of thinking.

Ricky Kaminski13Today  09:41 am JST

When you look at the state of the opposition it makes no difference.

So if the opposition managed to hammer itself into better shape the LDP would be screwed?

 A close minded culture will eventually drag this nation to the dirt if they do not adapt or change their way of thinking.

Like how they should change their way of thinking or what way of thinking they should adapt themselves to?

except for the 40 million Japanese- included myself -that voted for Abe.

This is funny, seeing as how Abe never stood for a national election. There is NO WAY that you, unless you live in his home district in Yamaguchi, where he won his seat to the diet.

Let's also stay away from way over exaggerating the number of votes the LDP got!

showchinmonoToday  06:11 pm JST

 A close minded culture will eventually drag this nation to the dirt if they do not adapt or change their way of thinking.

Like how they should change their way of thinking or what way of thinking they should adapt themselves to?

This is always very funny. No regular posters here at JT never present answers to this kind of question just like no one never answered how Japan should have done to rescue the abductees.

Voting is not something to vote for others without thinking reliability of the others just because you need change. How come Non-LDP cabinets could not last longer than a few years in the history of Japan's post ww2 era? Anyone?

No middle class Japanese wants to slave all their lives and comes to eating sand at retirement. abe is rich, aso is rich but not us, normal people.

Notmuchwisdom

40 million people did NOT vote for Abe. Japan doesn't have a system that directly votes for a President cos it doesn't have one.

He is PM of a constitutional monarchy based on the UK system.

YubaruToday  06:34 pm JST

"except for the 40 million Japanese- included myself -that voted for Abe."

This is funny, seeing as how Abe never stood for a national election. 

Exactly. I'm pretty sure a lot of dyed-in-the-wool LDP supporters vote for their local hereditary capo, not whoever happens to be prime minister at the time.

Exactly. I'm pretty sure a lot of dyed-in-the-wool LDP supporters vote for their local hereditary capo, not whoever happens to be prime minister at the time.

Wake up! Democracy is basically backed up by the votes seeking for protecting one's vest interest

one's vest interest --- one's vested interests

I cannot help thinking those who kept whining about Abe or LDP are mostly the ones who do have a sort of safety nets, i.e., another or other citizenships and could run away whenever it suits pro re nata。

How the telephone polls are conducted:

ring, ring, ring,

LDP headquarters Gifu

Do you support Abe?

Of course

There's one

ring, ring, ring,

LDP headquarters Mie

Do you support Abe?

Of course

There's one

ring, ring, ring,

Problems with pension information last time caused the LDP to lose their hold on the majority (I can't remember if it was 2009).

Government run Pension schemes are essentially a Ponzi scheme. Governments failing to uphold earlier promises should be sued as such.

masterblasterJune 17  10:04 pm JST

How the telephone polls are conducted:

Or, obliging company owners who depend on quasi-socialist government handouts tell their employees how to answer the questions, just like they tell them who to vote for.

marcelitoJune 17  10:33 pm JST

...if you really want an answer.

I doubt that. Whenever there's any criticism of the LDP all its supporters seem to be capable of is peddling that old "there is no alternative" trope.

For a do nothing, wasteful Abe, that is surprisingly high rating, unlikely to be true.

Exactly. I'm pretty sure a lot of dyed-in-the-wool LDP supporters vote for their local hereditary capo, not whoever happens to be prime minister at the time.

Spot on! People are not thinking about Abe when they are voting. Far too many posters here obviously are unaware of the system, even Japanese it seems, as they are the only one's who can actually vote.

So when you have voters who dont even understand their own system what do you expect? The answer of course is more of the same!

YubaruToday  07:25 am JST

Exactly. I'm pretty sure a lot of dyed-in-the-wool LDP supporters vote for their local hereditary capo, not whoever happens to be prime minister at the time.

Spot on! People are not thinking about Abe when they are voting.

Or, they're thinking that their local LDP dynast is good at getting his hands in the pork barrel and digging out a big share to keep all the zombie companies in the area propped up. I suspect that at least some of the time local businessmen who needs government handouts are telling their employees who to vote for, or getting them to help in election campaigns.

YubaruToday  07:25 am JST

> Spot on! People are not thinking about Abe when they are voting. Far too many posters here obviously are unaware of the system, even Japanese it seems, as they are the only one's who can actually vote.

So when you have voters who dont even understand their own system what do you expect? The answer of course is more of the same!

Bu Ha Ha. It seems you are underestimating your fellow Japanese citizen a bit too much Yubaru!

Politicians are supposed tp serve the people not destory their lives.

TARA TAN KITAOKAJune 18  01:34 pm JST

Politicians are supposed tp serve the people not destory their lives.

I think the politicians, elderly LDP politicians from rural areas in particular, have got it into their heads that they've taken over from the daimyo as feudal overlords and that the peasants-... sorry, people, exist only for their benefit. Hence the quasi-feudal system of inherited Diet seats, which is what people like Shinzo Abe have to help them get ahead in politics instead of charisma and ability.