The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:10 JST, October 23, 2024

Yoshihiko Noda, president of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, received high favorability ratings from candidates running in the upcoming House of Representatives election — even those of other parties — according to The Yomiuri Shimbun’s opinion survey of the lower house candidates.

The survey asked respondents to use temperatures to indicate their favorability levels for leaders of political parties in both the ruling and opposition camps. Zero C means antipathy and 50 C neutrality, while 100 C represents complete favorability.

The highest overall average figure was won by Noda at 45.8 C. Noda’s favorability rating from members of other parties was higher than those of CDPJ leaders in the past.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, also president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, received relatively lower ratings from LDP candidates than past LDP leaders did. His overall average rating stood at 41.2 C, ranking him fourth among party leaders.

Noda’s favorability rating among CDPJ candidates was high at 92.7 C. In addition, candidates of the Democratic Party for the People gave him 53.6 C and those of the Japan Innovation Party gave Noda 47.3 C, indicating his relatively favorable reputation.

LDP candidates gave Noda 34 C, showing favorable regard to a certain degree.

In the same kind of survey at the time of the previous general election in 2021, then CDPJ leader Yukio Edano received chillier ratings from other parties. The JIP gave him 13.2 C and the LDP gave him 17.9 C.

It seems that Noda’s ratings this time are high partly because he took a political stance of realistic middle-of-the-road policies.

On the other hand, while all other party leaders received 90 C or higher favorability ratings from their own parties’ candidates, Ishiba received just 89.6 C from LDP candidates.

This is less hot than the 96.3 C of then Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the time of the previous general election or the 95.2 C of then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the time of the 2017 general election.

In addition to Ishiba’s political base, which has been weak for some time, he has dealt strictly with LDP legislators involved in the problem of improper handling of political funds. For example, Ishiba did not endorse some of them and did not allow some others to simultaneously be on candidate lists of proportional representation contests.

It is possible that the strict attitude has caused antipathy against Ishiba inside the LDP.

Among other party leaders, the average reputational temperature of Japanese Communist Party leader Tomoko Tamura, who was ranked second, stood at 43.5 C, followed by Komeito leader Keiichi Ishii at 42 C.