TOKYO, Japan: Japan’s finance ministry was embroiled in a growing sexual harassment scandal on Friday after a magazine released what it said was audio of a senior bureaucrat sexually harassing a female journalist. Hours later, the magazine released what it said was audio of Fukuda with a female journalist at a bar. “I told him to act with a sense of propriety, given the current climate,” Aso told a parliament session, in an apparent reference to the scrutiny the cabinet is under. Opinion polls last month showed Abe’s support dropping to the lowest level since his re-election in October amid two cronyism scandals, one of which involves the alteration of documents by the finance ministry. Japan has one of the world’s worst records for female political representation, and has deeply entrenched gender attitudes.

Source: Manila Times April 13, 2018 14:37 UTC