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Three separate surveys published in recent days show public support for Ishiba’s government sinking to new lows, as analysts predict his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) could suffer another crushing defeat in the elections for the House of Councillors in July.
The warning signs come just nine months after the LDP lost its majority in the House of Representatives. Ishiba retained power only by forming a fragile minority government in partnership with the LDP’s junior coalition ally, Komeito – but analysts say he has done little since to arrest the party’s downward spiral.
“No one can understand what he is trying to do,” said Toshimitsu Shigemura, a professor of politics and international relations at Tokyo’s Waseda University.
“People are looking at each other and asking, ‘What are his policies?’. It is that fundamental … He just does not come across as a statesman.”
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