Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida set a target of speeding booster vaccinations to a million shots a day by the end of the month, as two new polls showed his support falling.
Kishida told parliament Monday his government would step up operations at large-scale vaccination facilities as it tries to reach the target. Employers would also be encouraged to press ahead with workplace boosters, he said.
While most of the population has received two doses of a vaccine, only about 5% has received a third shot, by far the lowest among advanced nations. Japan’s daily deaths from the virus are close to the worst levels seen in previous waves of the pandemic but are still far below those posted in other Group of Seven nations.
Support for Kishida’s cabinet fell 8 percentage points to 58% in a survey carried out by the Yomiuri newspaper and news network NNN from Feb. 4-6, while a poll by JNN showed a drop of 6.5 percentage points. The country has also set records for infections due to omicron, placing strain on the medical system.
Kishida has sought to stay closely in line with public opinion on pandemic policy after his two predecessors lost support and stepped down amid criticism of their handling of the infection. He faces an upper house election in July that will be key to his chances of staying in office.
While approval of his overall virus policy fell 4 percentage points in the Yomiuri/NNN survey, that was still higher than disapproval, at 44%. Almost three quarters of respondents said they approved of a decision to cut isolation time for close contacts of those infected, while 59% said the vaccine rollout was slow.
The premier met with ministers in charge of health, the pandemic and vaccines over the weekend, national public broadcaster NHK said. The government is also set to extend a state of quasi-emergency in Tokyo and 12 other areas, which is currently scheduled to end Feb. 13, the Asahi newspaper said. The extension would probably be for three weeks, and an official decision is set to be taken by Thursday, the paper said.
While less stringent than a state of emergency, the quasi-emergency allows local governments to push bars and restaurants to close early and restrict alcohol sales. Data published last week showed consumer sentiment fell in January by the biggest margin in almost two years as omicron spread.
