Support for Japan’s Abe Slides Amid Doubts Over Virus Handling
- Voters also unhappy with response to party, casino scandals
- Economic contraction bodes ill for longest-serving premier
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Voter support for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe fell in three polls published Monday, with two showing public dissatisfaction over his government’s handling of the new coronavirus outbreak as new domestic cases continue to be discovered daily.
The outbreak has slammed the brakes on travel and tourism, just as data released on Monday shows an Abe-backed tax hike battered the economy in the last quarter of 2019, which contracted by the most in more than five years. The fresh recession concerns are casting doubt on the stability that helped Abe become the country’s longest-serving premier in November.