Shinzō Abe Abe denied the charges, but support for his administration fell below 30% in the polls, the lowest since taking power in 2012. Those who called for him to step down included former prime minister Junichirō Koizumi. The scandal has been referred to as "Abegate". The scandals, while not damaging his political standing permanently, did little good to his image. In July 2018, Abe's public standing was further hit after he held a drinking party with LDP lawmakers during the peak of the disastrous floodings in western Japan. Abe welcomed the 2018 North Korea–United States summit. Shortly after the summit was
China–Japan relations forces in part due to the First and Second Opium Wars and Anglo-French Expeditions from the 1860s to the 1880s. According to Chinese government, the relationship between China and Japan has been strained at times by Japan's refusal to acknowledge its wartime past to the satisfaction of China. However, according to Japanese government, the expansion of People's Liberation Army and its assertive actions have been damaging the bilateral relation. Revisionist comments made by prominent Japanese officials and some Japanese history textbooks regarding the 1937 Nanking Massacre have been a focus of particular controversy. Sino-Japanese relations warmed considerably after Shinzo Abe