Most Japanese don’t support any political party amid ‘deep disappointment, disgust’ with corruption scandals

Most Japanese citizens do not support any particular political party, according to a new opinion poll, with analysts suggesting the results underline not only public “disgust” at the corruption scandals that continue to rock the nation but also a sense that they are powerless to bring about change.

The Japanese public’s disengagement from politics could have far-reaching consequences for the economy and society at large, analysts warned.

The poll, conducted from February 16 to 18 by the Nippon News Network television channel and the Yomiuri newspaper, found that 52 per cent of respondents did not support any political party, up by four percentage points from a poll last month.

This is the first time since November 2012 that the number of people indicating no political affiliation has exceeded 50 per cent.

Support for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) stood at 24 per cent last month, the lowest since it returned to power in 2012.

“I think there is deep disappointment – even disgust – in individual politicians, in political parties and the system itself,” said Yukihisa Fujita, a former politician with the Constitutional Democratic Party.

“Unfortunately, not enough people have the will to try to change things and the electorate has been slowly brainwashed or intimidated to the point that they are no longer able to criticise,” he told This Week in Asia. “There has been a gradual decline and too many people did not realise that this is a crisis of our political system.”

Fujita pointed out that the LDP has been in control for virtually the whole of the last 70 years, with generations of politicians simply taking over the “safe seats” of their fathers and grandfathers. Yet there was little outcry, he said, because the nation