[Anchor]
The approval rating for Prime Minister Takaichi, Japan's first female prime minister, has fallen to its lowest level since taking office. Analysts suggest that her disregard for public opinion, which calls for changing the archaic law that restricts the throne to male heirs, has contributed to this decline.
Tokyo, Correspondent Mun Junmo reports.
[Reporter]
In a public opinion poll released by the Mainichi Shimbun today (July 20), the approval rating for the Takaichi cabinet dropped by 10 percentage points to 41 percent.
This is the lowest level since she took office.
The sharp decline in her previously high approval rating is attributed to the Imperial House Law amendment bill, which was passed in parliament on July 17.
The Imperial House Law, which governs the succession of the Japanese throne and the composition of the imperial family, restricts the throne to males of the paternal line.
However, the current Emperor Naruhito has only one daughter, leaving his 19-year-old nephew, Hisahito, as the only successor.
This has heightened concerns in Japan that the imperial line could end if Hisahito does not have a son.
There were two potential solutions: allowing women, such as Emperor Naruhito's only daughter Princess Aiko, to ascend the throne, or adopting males from former royal families who were excluded during the downsizing of the imperial family after World War II.
Public opinion favored allowing women to become monarchs.
However, the Takaichi cabinet chose the path advocated by the conservative camp: adopting males from former royal families, some of whom are as distantly related as 36 degrees of kinship.
Opposition continued until the very day the bill was passed.
[Interview] Renho / Member of the Constitutional Democratic Party: "Shouldn't you withdraw the adoption plan, even now?"
[Interview] Takaichi Sanae / Prime Minister of Japan: "We proceeded in accordance with the results of sufficient discussions held in the National Diet, presided over by the speakers of the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors."
Protests criticizing the administration for prioritizing the imperial issue over people's livelihoods followed, but the amendment was pushed through by the ruling party's numerical majority.
[Interview] Protest Participant: "There are issues like the shortage of daily necessities, and people's lives are becoming difficult. Why are they dealing with something like the Imperial House Law amendment now? Now is not the time for that."
With high inflation, a crisis in public livelihood, unilateral governance, and the added disappointment that the first female prime minister has excluded women from imperial succession, Takaichi's political crisis is deepening.
(Video reporting: Moon Hyun-jin, Video editing: Chae Cheol-ho, Design: Kim Min-young)
Reported by Mun Junmo | Video by Moon Hyun-jin | Video editing by Chae Cheol-ho | Graphics by Kim Min-young | Produced by SBS Digital News
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