Shinzo Abe appeared to be in a good mood at Yokohama Arena on the night of Dec. 28. Dressed in a casual gray sweater and black trousers, the 60-year-old prime minister and his wife, Akie, were taking in a performance by the Southern All Stars, a legendary pop rock band led by vocalist Keisuke Kuwata.

Abe was waving and clapping in time to the music. But his mood appeared to turn sour when Kuwata suddenly changed the lyrics to the politically sarcastic song "Bakusho Airando" ("Island that Draws a Belly Laugh"), which the band originally released in 1998.

"(A politician) talking nonsense like dissolving the Diet!" Kuwata shouted in a clear swipe at Abe, who had dissolved the Lower House earlier that month and won a landslide victory in the snap election that followed, thanks in part to opposition parties who were unprepared to campaign effectively.