Support for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s cabinet stalled in some media polls, with a scandal involving his son adding to the problems starting to overshadow the kudos he gained for hosting the Group of Seven summit.
The premier was last week forced to rebuke his son Shotaro, who acts as his secretary, after photos emerged in a magazine showing him posing with relatives at a party at the premier’s official residence. Some of the shots showed Shotaro standing on the stairs where cabinet members take their official photos.
A poll carried out by the Nikkei from May 26-28 showed Kishida’s support falling five percentage points to 47%, the same level found in a Kyodo survey. In a separate poll by the Asahi newspaper, it rose to 46%. Three quarters of respondents to the Asahi poll said the party was a problem.
Speculation about an early election had been reignited a week earlier after Kishida’s successful hosting of the Group of Seven summit, with the unexpected presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meeting widespread approval.
Read More: Kishida’s Coalition Party Says It Won’t Back His LDP in Tokyo
The scandal over Kishida’s son comes as attention refocuses from the international stage to domestic problems. About 70% of respondents to the Kyodo poll said they were uneasy about a series of mess-ups related to the introduction of a unified ID card for tax, social security and health insurance.
The Nikkei poll found 69% of respondents opposed a hike in social security premiums, the latest idea being floated to pay for Kishida’s plans to double spending on children.
Kishida has said the drastic increase in outlays on young families is a last chance to overcome the aging country’s slumping birthrate, which he says threatens to bring about societal collapse. The deeply indebted country faces a battle over where to find the money, with voters already hurting from inflation reluctant to pay more in taxes.
The premier’s also facing cracks in his party’s long-standing coalition with the Buddhist-backed Komeito, which could force him to put off plans for an election.