Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's commitment to reform is being tested by a furore over an overseas aid scandal engulfing the foreign ministry and a lawmaker in his own ruling party.
At issue is alleged collusion between bureaucrats and politicians and whether the prime minister can show strong enough leadership to boost his sagging popularity.
The controversy involves allegations that ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmaker Muneo Suzuki was involved in bid-rigging by Japanese contractors for overseas aid projects. Suzuki denies any wrongdoing.
The media and the public have voiced increasing doubts over Koizumi's commitment to reform after his decision last month to sack the popular but outspoken Makiko Tanaka as foreign minister.
"The public is sick of politicians who gather around vested interests by controlling bureaucrats... and the political culture in Japan that allows this to happen," the Asahi Shimbun newspaper said in an editorial on Sunday.
"Prime Minister Koizumi should realise that he will not gain the public's trust unless he... sticks a scalpel deep into the collusive nature of the relationship between politicians and bureaucrats," it said.
Koizumi's public support ratings quickly slid 30 points to below 50 per cent after he fired Tanaka to end her feud with bureaucrats and Suzuki, their influential ruling LDP backer Bureau Report