Economics
Abe Tries to Fix His Tarnished Image
Will a cabinet shakeup help restore Japanese voters’—and his party’s—trust?
Photographer: Issei Kato/Reuters
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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe found a way to quiet public dissatisfaction with his performance, at least for now: He dumped pals from his cabinet and brought in the critics.
A day after Abe shuffled his cabinet on Aug. 3, expelling one of his Liberal Democratic Party protégés and introducing two detractors, his approval rating jumped six percentage points, to 42 percent, in a poll published in the conservative Yomiuri newspaper.