Although a “wine-and-dine” scandal involving Yoshihide Suga’s eldest son has led to the resignation of the prime minister’s public relations secretary, the controversy is unlikely to prove fatal for the administration, Research Director Sota Kato told the Straits Times.

“Issues with the bureaucracy have been occurring one after another since the previous Abe administration,” Kato noted, “and people have become accustomed to this.”

Suga’s style of ignoring crises until “the public anger heightens,” though, does not instill confidence, as revealed by recent opinion polls showing him ranked fifth in the public’s choice for their next leader.

“As Public Loses Confidence in Suga, New Scandal Claims Biggest Scalp,” Straits Times
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/as-public-loses-confidence-in-pm-suga-new-scandal-involving-his-son-claims-biggest

Profile of Research Director Sota Kato
https://www.tkfd.or.jp/en/experts/detail.php?id=29