Revival agenda of Japan's Abe challenged as money scandals, economic woes mount

TOKYO Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's honeymoon with Japan's voters is fading as scandals and a slowing economic recovery take a toll on his popularity and hinder progress on his policy agenda.

The resignations of two ministers in Abe's newly reshuffled Cabinet and reports that political funds of the replacement trade minister were used in a visit to a sex show bar were just the start.

Those reports got people digging into the riches to be found in publicly available political funding disclosures. They show some lawmakers spending hundreds and often thousands of dollars a night on visits to restaurants and mahjong parlors, while ordinary households are struggling to keep up with rising costs for food, heating and other necessities.

The most recent opinion polls show Abe's approval ratings slipping to around 50 percent. They had mostly been in the 60s since 2013.

The controversies are unwelcome distraction at a time of sharpening divisions within the ruling party over whether Abe should press ahead with a sales tax hike next year that is needed to help fix the tattered finances of the world's third-largest economy.

News of possible election law and political funding violations forced the resignations last week of Abe's justice and trade ministers, both among the five women who had just taken office in the early September Cabinet reshuffle that showcased Abe's commitment to stronger roles for women in leadership.

"It's a serious setback. So much of the Abe Cabinet's shine was due to its aura of invincibility and inevitability," said Michael Cucek, a Tokyo-based analyst and fellow at Temple University Japan.

Troubles over campaign funds and related issues have long contributed to Japan's famous "revolving door" politics. Abe's first term as prime minister, in 2006-2007, ended when he was driven from office by scandals and health problems after just a year.

Abe got a rare second chance when his Liberal Democrats regained power from the Democratic Party in December 2012. Since then, the LDP's coalition with the Buddhist-affiliated Komeito, or Clean Government Party, has established majorities in both houses of the parliament.

This time around, Abe has cultivated a confident, relaxed style of leadership, repeatedly declaring "Japan is back!" while his chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga endeavors to keep their gaffe-prone allies more or less in line.

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Revival agenda of Japan's Abe challenged as money scandals, economic woes mount