Japan PM seeks new start with cabinet revamp

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday dumped arch-conservatives and embraced critical voices in a cabinet revamp he hopes will stem a decline in public support after a series of scandals and missteps, reports AFP.

Political blueblood Abe, in office since late December 2012, has pushed a nationalist agenda alongside a massive policy effort to end years of on-off deflation and rejuvenate the world's third-largest economy.

But he has seen public support rates plummet in the past few months over an array of political troubles, including allegations of favouritism to a friend in a business deal -- which Abe strongly denies.

Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) suffered a drubbing in local Tokyo elections last month, which analysts and newspapers blamed on an increasing "arrogance" on the part of the prime minister and his government.

 

Japan PM seeks new start with cabinet revamp

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday dumped arch-conservatives and embraced critical voices in a cabinet revamp he hopes will stem a decline in public support after a series of scandals and missteps, reports AFP. Political blueblood Abe, in office since late December 2012, has pushed a nationalist agenda alongside a massive policy effort to end years of on-off deflation and rejuvenate the worlds third-largest economy. But he has seen public support rates plummet in the past few months over an array of political troubles, including allegations of favouritism to a friend in a business deal -- which Abe strongly denies. Abes Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) suffered a drubbing in local Tokyo elections last month, which analysts and newspapers blamed on an increasing arrogance on the part of the prime minister and his government.