Land of the Rising Sun needs a new long-term vision

MIDSUMMER days in Tokyo always tend to be hot, humid and oppressive but this year there is an added listlessness in the air.

It can be summed up, perhaps, as a feeling that Japan is "going nowhere", or at least going in the wrong direction. Political scandals have enmeshed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Cabinet, and their popularity has plunged to levels not seen since Mr Abe came to power at the end of 2012.

An increasingly cynical public can only look on and wonder whether things will ever change. Parliamentary opposition parties have shown yet again that they have skills in toppling ruling parties but less when it comes to forming viable alternative administrations. The danger is of a power vacuum, into which extremism could be sucked.