Abe admits tough election ahead

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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has admitted the ruling coalition faces an uphill battle to win over the public before elections later this month.

As both houses of parliament closed ahead of upper house elections on 29 July, Mr Abe conceded: "We are in an extremely difficult situation".

But he insisted that the coalition could still win the election.

His 10-month premiership has been hit by a series of scandals and questions over his leadership abilities.

Recent poll ratings saw public support for Mr Abe drop to under 30%.

Pension scandal

"I am aware that we are in an extremely difficult situation in these elections," he told a news conference.

"But I am convinced that we can win if we plainly and thoroughly outline in the campaigning our achievements and our plans for this country's future."

Mr Abe's Liberal Democrat Party and its junior coalition partner, the New Komeito party, need to win 64 of the 121 seats up for grabs to keep hold of their majority in the upper house.

A loss does not mean Mr Abe will have to step down, as the coalition still retains a majority in the lower house.

But some analysts believe a heavy defeat in these elections will make Mr Abe's position untenable and he will be forced to quit.

Earlier this week, defence minister Fumio Kyuma became the second minister to quit the Cabinet since Mr Abe took office.

He had been severely reprimanded by Mr Abe for remarks that appeared to condone the 1945 atomic bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, but bowed to opposition demands for his resignation a day later.

Mr Abe also lost his reform minister over a financial scandal earlier in the year, and his farms minister hanged himself following allegations of bid rigging.

But one of the most damaging scandals has been the loss of 50 million records of pension contributions by the Japanese government in recent years.

Although the errors were made before Mr Abe came to office, his perceived mishandling of this and other scandals has fuelled public anger.