The public approval rate for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Cabinet dropped 4.5 percentage points from the previous month to 59.3% in March, a Jiji survey showed Thursday.
The rate fell to the lowest level since her inauguration last October, but it remained relatively high after rising to 63.8% last month, tying the highest figure since she took office.
The March fall followed the revelation that Takaichi, who heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, distributed gift catalogs to the party's House of Representatives lawmakers who won Lower House seats in the Feb. 8 general election.
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