The public support rate for the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe climbed 3.7 points to 42.4 percent in a weekend opinion poll despite a document-tampering scandal at the Finance Ministry that has rocked his government in recent weeks.
In the meantime, 47.5 percent of the respondents said they do not support Abe's Cabinet, down 0.7 point but still higher than the support rate, the survey by Kyodo News showed.
The rebound might deal a blow to opposition lawmakers who expected the support rate — a critical indicator for the arguably populist Abe administration — to drop further amid the public furor over the Moritomo Gakuen land scandal.