Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is looking to extend his tenure and continue his push for a constitutional amendment, is hoping to revive public support with his cabinet reshuffle, but his new-look team is already raising some eyebrows. It has been widely expected that the…
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is looking to extend his tenure and continue his push for a constitutional amendment, is hoping to revive public support with his cabinet reshuffle, but his new-look team is already raising some eyebrows.
It has been widely expected that the prime minister will become Japan’s longest-serving postwar leader by winning a third three-year term as Liberal Democratic Party president in September.
But the outlook has become less certain for Abe after his cabinet’s approval ratings plunged recently. Some opinion polls show his support rate has fallen below 30 percent due in part to allegations that he helped his friend get approval to open a new veterinary school in a special economic zone.
The premier’s repeated bulldozing of bills through parliament, including contentious legislation to penalize the planning of crimes, and a series of missteps by ministers have taken a toll, with the most recent setback being the LDP’s historic defeat in the Tokyo metropolitan assembly election on July 2.
Tomomi Inada, Abe’s protege, resigned as defense minister less than a week before the cabinet reshuffle, falling on her sword over a scandal related to the cover-up of data about a U. N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.
Prime ministers have attempted to revive public support with cabinet shakeups in the past. Masahiko Asano, a political science professor at Takushoku University, says a full-fledged reshuffle typically boosts approval ratings by 5 to 10 percentage points.
