Approval rates for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s administration have declined in two of three recent media polls amid concerns over rising prices and worries about the availability of crude oil-derived naphtha due to the conflict in the Middle East.

All three polls, however, showed that the prime minister, who has been in office for seven months and led the Liberal Democratic Party to a two-thirds majority in the Lower House election in February, remains highly popular overall.

In the late May polls, Takaichi¡¯s support rate ranged between 50% and 66%, a drop of up to 3 percentage points compared with a month earlier.

A May 29-31 Nikkei poll showed her Cabinet approval rating at 66% ¡ª 3 percentage points lower than in April. On the other hand, 28% said they did not support the Cabinet ¡ª up 2 percentage points.

A May 22-24 Yomiuri Shimbun poll showed 64% of respondents supported Takaichi while 24% did not, virtually unchanged from the previous month.

Takaichi scored lowest in a Mainichi Shimbun poll conducted over May 23 to 24, with only 50% of respondents supporting her Cabinet ¡ª down 3 percentage points from April ¡ª while 33% said they did not support her.

But the results also showed that the public is more critical and worried about her response to two issues ¡ª rising prices and questions about the availability of naphtha, which is used in a variety of industries and everyday items.

In the Nikkei poll, 49% of respondents said measures dealing with rising prices should be the government¡¯s top priority. The Yomiuri Shimbun poll, meanwhile, showed that 64% of respondents were not convinced by the government¡¯s explanation that there were no naphtha shortages.

On the issue of whether the government should ask people to save gasoline and electricity, 52% of Mainichi Shimbun respondents and 63% of Nikkei respondents responded saying it is a good idea.