Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s approval rating falls to less than 50pc

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's approval rating fell to less than 50 per cent in at least the sixth survey this month after his effort to ease restrictions on the military sapped his popularity.

Support for Abe's cabinet fell five percentage points to 48 per cent, the lowest since his election in December 2012, in a poll published on Monday in the Nikkei newspaper. The cabinet's disapproval rating rose two points to 38 per cent, the newspaper said. No margin of error was given.

The slide in Abe's popularity accelerated this month after his cabinet on July 1 passed a resolution to reinterpret the pacifist constitution to allow the military to defend allies. The move prompted rare street protests and added to public discontent over a sales tax increase in April.

"The reinterpretation inflamed public opinion," said Liu Jiangyong , professor of international relations at Tsinghua University in Beijing who specialises in Japan studies. "The poll results serve as a warning, but won't do much to undermine Abe's ruling position."

That's because Abe's Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition holds majorities in both the chambers of parliament, and national elections are not due before 2016. Support for the opposition Democratic Party of Japan was at 6 per cent in the Nikkei poll.

"His frog marching the nation rightwards seems to carry few risks as the political opposition is fragmented and in disarray," said Jeff Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University in Tokyo. "Voters have no alternative to the LDP."