Government support fell to 41%, from 47% in a previous poll late in August, to hit its lowest since Kishida took office last October, identical to similar polls published last week, and down from 57% in early July, the poll showed.

The share of those who did not support Kishida rose to 47% from 39%, the poll by the Asahi Shimbun daily showed.

Links to the Unification Church, founded in South Korea in the 1950s, have become an increasing headache for Kishida since July 8, when Abe was killed by a suspect who blamed him for supporting the church, which he said had bankrupted his mother.

Kishida’s decision to hold a state funeral for Abe on Sept 27 has also sparked anger, both over the ties of lawmakers of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to the church – Abe among them – and the size of the funds earmarked for it.

In parliament last week, Kishida defended his decision on the funeral for Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister when he left office in 2020, but 64% of poll respondents said they could not accept the prime minister’s reasoning.