Following the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's staggering loss in the July 29 Upper House election, all eyes are focused on whether embattled Prime Minister Shinzo Abe can shore up his credibility with a new Cabinet.
Abe said immediately after the House of Councilors election that he would not step down, but pledged to replace his Cabinet, many of whose members had been involved in scandals or were the source of inflammatory gaffes. Abe's refusal to step down irked many voters and politicians, and he and his Cabinet saw their public approval rating slip even further into record-low territory.
A Mainichi Shimbun telephone poll on the first weekend after the July 29 election put the Abe Cabinet's support rate at a dismal 22 percent, down 9 points from a pre-election survey and less than one-third of Abe's polling numbers when he took office last September.