Political scandals in Japan are raising questions whether Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will have the clout next year to push through a rise in the sales tax to 10%. Both the justice minister and the minister of economy, trade and industry had to resign in October over funding and legal improprieties. But Abe’s new industry minister, Yoichi Miyazawa, immediately got into hot water when it was revealed he accepted political contributions from a foreign-owned company. Miyazawa denied knowledge of the company’s ownership, though he has admitted that one of his aides spent the equivalent of $190 in a sado-masochism-themed bar.
