Sinking in polls, Japanese leader renews unorthodox inflation bet

Japanese leader Fumio Kishida has seen his approval rating plummet of late along with the yen. But he’s sticking with his world-defying bet on loose monetary policy even as voter dissatisfaction grows.

Support for Kishida’s year-old cabinet has slumped to below 30%, roughly half of what it was six months ago, mostly due to a public uproar over his ruling party’s links with a fringe church that were exposed after the July murder of Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister. Kishida announced a probe into the organization this week in a bid to quash the scandal. 

At the same time, voters are