JAPAN PM TO RESHUFFLE CABINET

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to reshuffle his Cabinet on Wednesday in a bid to re- energise his economic and security agenda after once stellar approval ratings began to wane. The staunch conservative had enjoyed sky- high public support when he came to power in December 2012 promising to kick- start Japan’s sputtering economy. But a series of bruising battles over a consumption tax hike and an unpopular move to water- down the pacifist Constitution have taken some of the wind out of his sails. A little less than two years into his tenure as Prime Minister, weeds of discontent in his often- fractious party are also beginning to emerge, as the restless ranks of politicians brought up on a system of age- based seniority agitate for a crack at a cabinet job.