Japan’s Kishida Battered by Third Cabinet Resignation in a Month
(Bloomberg) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was forced to replace a third cabinet minister in the space of a month, as scandals threatened to slow the agenda for a government facing a declining support rate.
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Internal Affairs Minister Minoru Terada stepped down over the weekend due to allegations of political funding irregularities. The premier apologized to the public and said he would name a replacement Monday morning, which local media including national public broadcaster NHK said would be former Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto.
“I am sincerely sorry for the fact that ministers have resigned one after another while parliament is in session,” Kishida told reporters Sunday after returning from summits in Southeast Asia. “I take seriously my responsibility for having appointed them.” Two of the ministers concerned hail from his own faction within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Kishida’s week dedicated to diplomacy — including his first meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping — has done little to distract from his domestic woes.
Inflation at its highest in decades and a scandal over LDP ties to a fringe church have sent Kishida’s voter support tumbling below the 30% level — seen as the danger zone for a Japanese leader in some polls. That could make it harder for him to control his party and push through key policy pledges, including an increase in defense spending.
An expert panel is set to submit its proposals to the government on how to strengthen Japan’s defenses as soon as Monday, according to the Sankei newspaper, with plans to be finalized by the end of the year. Kishida is also seeking to pass a bill aimed at helping victims of the Unification Church, which has a long list of court rulings against it over its fundraising practices.
The church came under renewed scrutiny after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead in July. The gunman told police he acted out of resentment over Abe’s ties to the group derisively called the “Moonies,” which he blamed for bankrupting his family by taking excessive donations from his mother.
A poll published by Jiji Press Nov. 17 found support for Kishida’s cabinet at 27.7%, little changed on the previous month. About 43.5% of respondents said they didn’t support him.
–With assistance from Takashi Hirokawa.
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