Scandals gain traction, damage Abe’s standing in Japan

TOKYO — Amid tensions over trade and North Korea, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan leaves Tuesday to visit President Trump at his Palm Beach estate. It kicks off a frenzy of diplomacy that has Abe meeting President Xi Jinping in China later this year and possibly even North Korea’s Kim Jong Un as well.

Yet Abe may not stay in power long enough to complete the diplomatic trifecta.

Continuing leaks about a pair of domestic scandals that have dogged Abe for more than a year are starting to damage his political standing, with a swelling number of voices saying he will not fulfill his ambition to be the country’s longest-serving prime minister.