Japan’s new Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi yesterday told a news conference that he had been instructed by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to work hard to restore the public’s trust in the government.
Kishida earlier in the day replaced four Cabinet ministers, including Hayashi’s predecessor, Hirokazu Matsuno, as he tried to stem the fallout from a fundraising scandal that has further dented public support for his administration.
The four ministers are among lawmakers accused of concealing income from fundraising events. The other three are former economy and industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, former minister of internal affairs Junji Suzuki and former minister of agriculture Ichiro Miyashita.
Photo: Reuters
“The public’s doubts are around me over political funds, which is leading to distrust in the government, “ Nishimura told reporters. “As an investigation is going on, I thought I wanted to set things right.”
Former Japanese minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries Ken Saito is to take over the trade portfolio.
Tetsushi Sakamoto was appointed as agriculture minister and Takeaki Matsumoto was named as internal affairs minister, Kyodo News reported.
The move came as reports from the Yomiuri Shimbun and other media say prosecutors are preparing to raid the offices of lawmakers under suspicion, who are members of the largest faction within the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
The slush fund from the group once led by former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe might have totaled about ¥1 billion (US$7 million), the Yomiuri reported this week.
It was unclear whether the reshuffle would help shore up support for Kishida’s government, the most unpopular in more than a decade, polls have showed.
Support for Kishida’s Cabinet fell 4.2 percentage points to 17.1 percent in a survey published by Jiji Press.
No general election need be held until 2025 and the LDP retains higher support ratings than any of the opposition parties, meaning it is unlikely to lose power any time soon.
However, the turmoil threatens Kishida’s policy program as he tries to push through measures to shield Japan from the effects of inflation and seeks ways to fund his plans for the largest defense expansion since World War II.
Three senior LDP officials also resigned, public broadcaster NHK said.
The officials and others are suspected of failing to declare income from fundraising events, in a breach of political funds laws.
Additional reporting by AFP
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