It's as if he was trying to follow the example of Hayato Ikeda, who, following the resignation of Nobusuke Kishi after winning ratification of the revised Japan-U.S. security treaty amid public uproar in 1960, shifted the government's policy focus to the economy with a plan to redouble Japan's national income. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Kishi's grandson at the helm of government 55 years later, has emphasized his administration's refocus on the economy after the ruling coalition enacted his contentious security legislation despite widespread popular opposition.

Senior LDP leaders and his aides have reportedly been telling the prime minister to do so, having apparently been alarmed by the recent steep fall in his approval ratings and the possible impact on the party's chances in the Upper House election next year.

Abe has maintained relatively strong popular support — to an unusual extent for a Japanese prime minister nearly three years in office — which has largely been attributed to the state of the economy. This despite the fact that the economy has been fluctuating and clearly losing steam since the consumption tax hike in April 2014. It comes as no surprise that the administration and the ruling coalition, after dividing public opinion by pushing the security legislation through the Diet, wants to refocus on bread-and-butter issues to recapture popular support.