AFTER winning election for Japan’s premiership four times in a row, Shinzo Abe has a reputation for arrogance. Before parliament broke up in June for the summer he jeered his opponents and called their questions “stupid”. At one point he told ministers to read newspaper articles on his policies instead of bothering him for an explanation. A noticeably humbler Mr Abe was grilled this week in both houses of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, over allegations—which he denies—that he abused his office to grant a favour to a chum. Amid the furore, his popularity has plummeted.
His troubles were evident earlier this month when his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) suffered its worst result ever in an election for Tokyo’s regional assembly. On July 24th a poll by the Mainichi, a liberal newspaper, put support for Mr Abe at 26%, the lowest since his stunning return to power in 2012 after years in the political wilderness, and ten percentage points lower...Continue reading
from Asia http://ift.tt/2h5MnRS
EmoticonEmoticon