Asia

Public Support for Japan Cabinet Down by 9.2% Over Abe's Corruption Scandal-Poll

TOKYO (Sputnik) - The public support for the Japanese government decreased by 9.2 percent within two weeks as result of a scandal over the purchase of land from the state for a private school far below market price, which allegedly involves country's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a fresh poll revealed on Sunday.
Sputnik

According to the poll conducted by the Kyodo news agency, the government is supported by 38.7 percent, compared to 48.2 percent registered two weeks ago.

More than 66 percent of respondents are holding Prime Minister Shinzo Abe responsible for the scandal, while over 52 percent believe that the finance minister must step down, according to the poll.

However, earlier this week, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported that the documents used during the investigation had been falsified, with the names of Abe's wife, as well as Finance Minister Taro Aso, having been deleted from the papers.

READ MORE: Japan Finance Minister to Skip G20 Over Land Sale Scandal — Reports

The scandal around the private school of Moritomo Gakuen erupted in February 2017 with the school has purchased the land for a price, which was eight times lower than the market one. The school was suspected of having links to the Japanese leadership. It also turned out that Abe's wife visited several times a kindergarten belonging to Moritomo Gakuen.

Yasunori Kagoike, director of the school, was arrested but no links to the prime minister and his government were revealed, which resulted in stabilization of the situation for the Japanese leadership.

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