The approval rating for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet rose to 39.8 percent following a reshuffle, up 6.2 percentage points from late August, a Kyodo News survey showed Thursday, signaling the shakeup's limited impact on lifting its sagging popularity.

According to the two-day nationwide telephone survey conducted from Wednesday, 37.6 percent of respondents said they viewed Kishida's picks of Cabinet ministers and ruling party leadership positively, against 43.9 percent who felt otherwise.

Kishida on Wednesday appointed a record-tying five women as ministers, including the top diplomat, and picked 11 new faces for his Cabinet, after facing sluggish support ratings in recent months amid public frustration over the trouble-plagued "My Number" national identification card system and inflation.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (C) and members of his reshuffled Cabinet attend its first meeting at the premier's office in Tokyo on Sept. 13, 2023. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

The changes were widely seen as an effort by Kishida to boost his popularity and standing within his Liberal Democratic Party as he keeps an eye on the possibility of a snap general election and on the LDP's presidential election in September next year.

But the latest Cabinet support rating ended up being around the same level as the disapproval rating, which stood at 39.7 percent, down 10.3 points from the previous poll on Aug. 19 and 20.

Kishida appears to have tried to balance freshness and stability in the personnel changes, including by retaining seasoned veterans such as Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno and LDP Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi.

A majority of the surveyed respondents reacted negatively to one of the key highlights of the new LDP executive lineup -- Yuko Obuchi, a 49-year-old daughter of late Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, who became the election campaign chief --- with 58.8 percent calling the appointment "inappropriate."

The move has marked a comeback of Obuchi to the political limelight since a scandal over misuse of political funds forced her to step down as industry minister only a month after she took the post in 2014.

Over 76 percent of the respondents thought Kishida allocated the ministerial posts in consideration of the power balance between the LDP factions, while 15.9 percent thought the prime minister was focused on "placing the right person in the right place" based on their skills and ability.

As for issues the public feels Kishida should prioritize the most, economic measures, including steps to address rising prices, were cited by 53.5 percent, with child-rearing and the declining birthrate following at 18.8 percent, according to the poll.

Only 7.0 percent thought that diplomacy and national security issues should come first.

While Japan has been releasing treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant since late August, the survey found that 54.1 percent thought that support for fisheries businesses was "insufficient," whereas 36.2 percent said support is "adequate."

The government has compiled a relief package worth 100.7 billion yen ($683 million) to address economic damage stemming from the water discharge. China has imposed a total ban on Japanese seafood, having cited safety concerns in opposing the water release.

By political party, the LDP maintained the highest support rate with 38.3 percent, which was followed by 11.6 percent of respondents favoring the opposition Japan Innovation Party, while 8.3 percent preferred the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.

The LDP's junior coalition ally Komeito party secured 6.1 percent of support.

The survey called 531 randomly selected households with eligible voters and 2,964 mobile phone numbers. It yielded responses from 420 household members and 626 mobile phone users.

In a questionnaire on Johnny & Associates Inc., which has recently admitted to its late founder's sexual abuse against aspiring teenage pop singers, 56.1 percent were skeptical that Japan's top male talent agency can restore public trust, even after the resignation of its president.

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