Prime Minister Shinzo Abe faces such a constant stream of stumbles and irritants, it's hard to identify which of them is causing his biggest headache.

Certainly, keeping "Abenomics" a viable proposition would rank at the top. But the media have also given heavy coverage to the noisy public opposition to the proposed Japan-U.S. defense guidelines and local opposition to the transfer of a U.S. military base to Henoko in northern Okinawa, not to mention delays in deciding on a design for the new National Stadium, and numerous others.

Perhaps sensing that Abe's days at the top might be nearing their end, the September issue of Shincho 45 magazine devoted eight articles totalling 36 pages to a special section on the theme of "Abe-kirai" o kangaeru (considering "the disliking of Abe"). Rather than attacking Abe per se, the section examined various aspects to explain his unpopularity, beginning with commentator Keishi Saeki, who raises the flaws in Abe's logic of an equitable defense relationship he's been using to pitch the new defense guidelines.