Former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Saturday Shinzo Abe is unlikely to win a third term in September‘s Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, citing the public‘s growing distrust in the premier after a string of recent scandals.

„Winning a third term will be tough as he is losing public trust,“ Koizumi told reporters in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture. Securing the LDP presidency is seen a prerequisite for Abe to stay on as prime minister.