Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga (C) answers a question during a lower house budget committee session at parliament in Tokyo on May 11, 2021. Photo: VCG

Support for Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga slid below 30 percent for the first time since he took office, a survey showed on Monday, a sign that the Tokyo Olympic Games failed to boost his ratings amid a resurgence of coronavirus infections.

Roughly a third disapproved of holding the Games which closed on Sunday and 60 percent said they did not want Suga to stay on as prime minister, according to the poll conducted by Asahi newspaper, darkening his ruling party's prospects in general elections to be held later in 2021.

In the poll conducted over the weekend, Suga's support slid to 28 percent, the lowest since he became prime minister in September 2020. 

Of those polled, 56 percent of those who replied said it was good to hold the Games, while 32 percent thought it was bad.

Japan's slow vaccination rollouts have hurt Suga's popularity and a spike in new infections, caused by the rapid spread of the Delta variant, has overshadowed the Olympic Games with cases hitting a milestone of 1 million on Friday.

Suga and Olympics organizers have said there was no link between the Games and the spike in cases.

Reuters