(Bloomberg) -- Prospects for an election in Japan before year-end appeared to fade after a series of scandals and gaffes in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s new cabinet, with a second minister resigning in the space of a week.Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai submitted his resignation Thursday after the Shukan Bunshun magazine reported that he was linked to illegal payments to campaign staff. His departure follows the resignation last Friday of then Economy Minister Isshu Sugawara after the same publication said in a separate article that he had made gifts to constituents in violation of campaign laws. Both were appointed in September.“He has overcome scandals in the past, but I don’t think he’s in a strong enough position at this point to ignore them and hold an election,” said Katsuhiko Nakamura, senior executive director at Asian Forum Japan, a Tokyo-based think tank. “He’s not a lame duck yet, but his approval rating is not as high as it once was. So I think the timing is a bit difficult...
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