Prime Minister Shinzo Abe looked briefly into space on Friday evening in Kuala Lumpur as he concluded his three-nation tour of Asia and turned his attention to Monday's crucial reshuffling of the Cabinet and his party's leadership.
While the weeklong tour of Indonesia, India and Malaysia helped distance Abe from potential rivals and growing speculation about his favorite picks at home, it is unclear whether this helped his embattled administration or hurt it.
The only thing that surprised reporters about an interview Friday evening was the revelation that Abe already had an idea about the upcoming personnel decisions before leaving Tokyo Sunday but refused to drop any specific names.
Prospects appear to be diminishing that his decisions will have a strong, positive impact.