 One of his acts was to order the destruction of the Nichiren sect temple of Kannō-ji, whose priests had become involved in a scandal with ladies of the "Ōoku" under Shōgun Tokugawa Ienari.In September 1843, Abe became "rōjū" at the young age of 25, moving his residence to the Abe family's estate at Tatsunokuchi, outside Edo Castle (modern day Ōtemachi).He became "rōjū shuza" (老中首座, presiding senior councillor) in September 1845, after Mizuno Tadakuni lost his standing over the failure of the Tenpō Reforms.