The Japanese Minister for Reconstruction, Akiba, told reporters on Tuesday that he had to resign in order not to endanger the parliamentary debate. Opposition parties had accused Akiba of violating electoral laws and having ties to the controversial Unification Church. Akiba denied the allegations.
“I take my responsibility as the person who fills orders very seriously,” Kishida said after Akiba’s resignation. “By fulfilling my political responsibilities, I hope to fulfill my duties as prime minister.” The Kyodo news agency reported that Akiba would be replaced by former Reconstruction Minister Hiromichi Watanabe.
Media: Kishida worried about budget law
According to Japanese media reports, Kishida has called for Akiba’s resignation, partly to prevent the minister’s scandal from torpedoing forthcoming parliamentary debates on a budget law. The new budget includes a sharp increase in defense spending, with which Kishida hopes to counter growing threats from China and North Korea.
Also on Tuesday, the prime minister accepted the resignation of parliamentary deputy interior minister Mio Sugita, who had made disparaging remarks about sexual and ethnic minorities in the past. Sugita said in 2018 that same-sex couples who don’t have children are “unproductive.” In 2016, at a UN session, she referred to those who wore traditional ethnic costumes as “middle-aged women in costume play.”
Abe assassination put religious group in spotlight
In polls, Kishida’s cabinet is slipping further. His approval ratings have already plummeted after deep ties between politicians from the ruling LDP and the Unification Church were exposed following the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July.
The religious group, which was founded in South Korea in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon, revered as the Messiah, is viewed by critics as a sect. In recent months, three ministers have resigned in connection with financing scandals and connections to the Unification Church.
Tetsuya Yamagami, who is suspected of shooting dead former Prime Minister Abe during an election speech in the western city of Nara, told investigators he targeted the politician because he believed Abe had ties to the Unification Church – the latter made by the suspected assassin responsible for his family’s bankruptcy. As a result, the debate about the religious group picked up speed again.
Premier ordered investigation
Akiba, who has now resigned, denied any connection to the church. However, he did admit that the LDP department he headed paid 48,000 yen ($400) to two church-affiliated companies, which Akiba claimed were magazine subscriptions, according to the Kyodo news agency.
Kishida ordered an investigation into the finances and organization of the Unification Church and most recently supported a new law designed to help victims of the church’s controversial giving methods. Akiba’s resignation has led to “renewed criticism” of Kishida’s political judgment, writes the Guardian.
Just a few weeks ago, Minoru Terada resigned as interior minister. Terada has faced criticism for several funding scandals. Justice Minister Yasuhiro Hanashi resigned in mid-November after being criticized for various statements, including a joke about the death penalty. The minister for economic revitalization, Daishiro Yamagiwa, on the other hand, was doomed by ties to the religious group. He resigned at the end of October.
Kishida’s cabinet plummets in polls
Debates about the controversial Unification Church will presumably continue to occupy Japan in the coming year. So Kishida’s start to the new year is extremely bad: According to the Guardian, the cabinet’s approval ratings are approaching the “danger threshold” of 30 percent. In the local elections in the spring, Kishida’s party could possibly be given a lesson.
According to a Kyodo poll conducted last week, support for the cabinet has fallen to 33.1 percent — the lowest level since Kishida became prime minister in October last year.
Cabinet reshuffle in January?
Reuters reported speculation that Kishida was planning a cabinet reshuffle in early January given the government’s dwindling support. “I’m not saying I’ll never consider a cabinet reshuffle, I’m just saying I won’t consider one over the New Year holidays,” Kishida said.
Kishida succeeded Yoshihide Suga in 2021, who had been in office for just one year. Suga drew voters’ frustration and anger with its coronavirus policy and sluggish economic development. The LDP has been in power almost continuously since it was founded in 1955.
