Asked how Shinzo Abe has done in his first four months in office, one of the Japanese prime minister's warmest supporters grimaces before making the sound of a heavy object clattering down a flight of stairs. "Gadan, gadan, gadan," he says, employing onomatopoeia to represent Mr Abe's breakneck fall from grace.
Keiichiro Nakamura, long acquainted with Mr Abe, is referring to evidence including the prime minister's poll ratings, which have skidded from nearly 70 per cent when he took office in late September to barely 40 per cent today. Mr Abe, he says, has been undermined by scandals and gaffes by cabinet members, fuelling the impression that he cannot impose discipline or strategic direction.
