Today, Jochi political scientist Koichi Nakano published an opinion piece in the Guardian about the Japanese government's approach to the Tokyo Olympics (In Japan most people want to cancel the Olympics, but the government won't listen | Koichi Nakano | The Guardian <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/may/24/japan-cancel-olympics-coronavirus>). The article is very critical of the Suga government (with reason, in my view), and notes the high level of public dissatisfaction. It does strike me as very strange, however, that Professor Nakano makes no mention whatsoever of opposition parties - what they might be saying, or what the level of support for them is. It is even stranger, given that a general election is scheduled to be held in Japan later this year. I find it hard to think of any other major democratic country where analysis would not touch on this subject.

The last opinion poll that I actually saw reported (by the Asahi on May 17) showed that alongside the record low approval rate of 33% for the Suga cabinet, 35% of voters said they would vote for the LDP in the PR section if a national election were held now, against 17% who would vote for the CDP. In other words, double the support for the LDP than for its main rival, despite record-low disapproval for the government. (And this is the PR section, where votes are purely for party. The LDP would probably do better in the SMD section.) See: Survey: Suga Cabinet approval rating ties record low of 33% : The Asahi Shimbun <http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14351623>

This makes me wonder two things. (1) What have opposition parties been saying about what changes need to be made, regarding the Olympics or more widely regarding the shortcomings in Japan's systems that have been revealed by the pandemic? (2) Why have opposition parties apparently been able to capitalise so little on the Suga government's pretty woeful performance?

Thoughts and analysis are welcome.

Peter Cave
Senior Lecturer in Japanese Studies
Research Postgraduate Director, Modern Languages and Cultures
SALC, University of Manchester
Samuel Alexander Building
Oxford Road
Manchester M13 9PL
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)161 275 3195
www.manchester.ac.uk/research/peter.cave/ <http://www.manchester.ac.uk/research/peter.cave/>