Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took the blame for the eroded trust in his government amid a scandal involving a land sale to a school operator with ties to his wife, but continued to deny any wrongdoing on his or his wife's part.
Abe's support fell to its lowest since he took office in December 2012, two opinion polls published over the weekend showed, Reuters reported, following the removal of Abe, his wife and Finance Minister Taro Aso from the land sale records.
"I did not direct that the documents be altered ... In fact, I didn't even know that they existed at all, so how could I have done that?" Abe told a parliamentary panel March 19.
Suspicions of a cover-up led opposition parties to call for Abe and Aso to quit. Abe has denied that he or his wife performed favors for Moritomo Gakuen, the school operator, and has said he would resign if any evidence showed otherwise.
Other polls showed most Japanese believed Abe bore some responsibility for the scandal. Some surveys indicated support sinking into the 30% level, Reuters reported.
"As head of the government, I keenly feel my responsibility in the matter of the people losing their trust in the administration," Abe reportedly said. "Ultimately, the responsibility lies with me as prime minister. I would like to apologize once again."
The scandal and the resulting decline in public support could reduce Abe's chances of securing a third three-year term as head of the Liberal Democratic Party in September's leadership vote. Meanwhile, Abe has fallen behind his main rival, former defense minister Shigeru Ishiba, in a Nippon TV poll of who should head the country, Reuters reported.
