Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Wednesday he will cancel a controversial publicly funded cherry-blossom viewing event next year amid mounting criticism that he has previously used it to entertain his supporters.As the opposition forces have taken issue with what they see as murky criteria for selecting guests to the annual event, held every April since 1952, the government plans to carry out a "comprehensive" review."I made the decision myself to suspend the event," Abe told reporters at the prime minister's office.The remark came as the Abe administration has been scrambling to contain the …READ FULL ARTICLE
