Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s support slid 10 points to 26 per cent in a poll published on Sunday, a day before Mr Abe will be grilled in parliament over a suspected scandal that is cutting his ratings to the lowest since taking office in 2012.

The July 22-23 Mainichi newspaper poll also showed that 56 per cent of respondents did not back Mr Abe’s government, a 12 point rise from a previous survey in June.

The precipitous drop in support does not immediately threaten Mr Abe’s job. Mr Abe was until recently seen as on track to become Japan’s longest-serving Prime Minister by winning a third three-year term when his current tenure ends in September 2018.

Defence minister Tomomi Inada, an Abe protege, meanwhile faces calls to resign over reports.