TOKYO- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is eager to turn around slumping public support for his cabinet, but there appears little prospect of containing high-profile favoritism allegations against him.

Media polls earlier this month showed the Abe cabinet's approval ratings falling below 40 percent, hitting respective record lows since Abe returned to power in December 2012. Jiji Press is due to release the results of its latest public opinion poll on Friday.

"It's a terrible situation," a senior official at the prime minister's office said.

Another high-ranking government official said, "Now is the worst time, but the atmosphere will change after a cabinet reshuffle."

During a visit to Stockholm on Sunday, Abe revealed plans to shake up the cabinet and the executive team of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party early next month. By announcing a reshuffle around a month ahead, he is believed to be aiming to keep LDP members from breaking ranks to the detriment of his leadership.

But it seems difficult for the prime minister to restore public trust, since the latest media polls also suggest that an increasing number of people view him as untrustworthy.

"The effects of the (cabinet and LDP leadership) reshuffle are likely to be limited," an LDP heavyweight said.

"We have no choice but to wait until everyone is tired of the Kake issue," a government insider said, referring to a favoritism scandal involving Kake Educational Institution, headed by a personal friend of Abe.

Ahead of the cabinet and party leadership shake-up, expected around Aug. 3, Abe appears keen to impress the public by tackling key policy challenges, as well as prioritizing the response to the disaster caused by recent heavy rain in the northern Kyushu region in southwestern Japan.

After cutting short his Europe visit and returning home on Tuesday, Abe convened a meeting of relevant cabinet ministers within the day to discuss the government's response to the Kyushu disaster. He visited deluge-hit areas on Wednesday.

The administration, nonetheless, is reluctant to accept opposition camp demands to hold a parliamentary committee meeting on the Kake issue with Abe in attendance. "Discussions would go nowhere, even if the prime minister is there," an aide to Abe said. (Jiji Press)