A recent poll by Mainichi indicates that the support rate for Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda’s Cabinet is at 18 percent, which down six points from a previous poll conducted in April.

As many as 77 percent of respondents said they disagree with the April launch of a new medical insurance system for over-75s, while 74 percent disapproved of the reinstated provisional tax on gasoline, the result of the ruling coalition ramming a bill amending the Special Taxation Measures Law through the Diet into law.

The Fukuda Cabinet enjoyed a support rate of 57 percent when it came to power last fall.

Party-wise, the trends are the same.

As for the support rate for political parties, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) gained 20 percent, four points down from the previous poll, while the approval rate for the largest opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) increased by six points to 28 percent. It is the first time that the support rate for the DPJ surpassed that the LDP’s since December last year, when the ratio stood at 27 percent for the DPJ versus 26 percent for the LDP.