TOKYO >> The approval rating for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet stood at 49 percent, down 12 points from the previous survey’s 61 percent, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun survey conducted Saturday to Sunday.

The disapproval rate increased to 41 percent from 28 percent in the previous survey, which was conducted May 12-14.

This is the first time the approval rating has fallen below 50 percent since the 49 percent seen in the June 17-19 survey last year. The margin of decline is the largest since the second Abe Cabinet was inaugurated in December 2012. The figure exceeds the Cabinet’s lowest support rating — 41 percent — from a September 2015 survey taken immediately after the passage of security-related bills.

The main point of disapproval, cited by 48 percent of respondents, was that they could not trust the prime minister — the highest such percentage since the second Abe Cabinet was inaugurated.

Regarding political parties, 41 percent supported the Liberal Democratic Party, down from 43 percent in the previous survey, followed by the Democratic Party, at 7 percent (up from 6 percent).

Regarding the passage of a bill to revise the Law on Punishment of Organized Crimes and Control of Crime Proceeds that would criminalize preparation for terrorist attacks as its central pillar, 50 percent of respondents were in favor of it, compared to 37 percent opposed. Eighty percent did not think the government and ruling parties sufficiently explained the measure to the public.

To pass the bill, the ruling camp resorted to an “interim report” that skipped approval by the House of Councillors committee. Many viewed the measures taken by the ruling parties negatively, with 61 percent saying they were inappropriate.

The latest survey was conducted on eligible voters aged 18 or older using a random-digit dialing method in which a computer randomly generates telephone numbers. Valid answers were given by 1,130 people — 553 from landline households, 577 from cellphone users.