Japan’s Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida on Tuesday, December 27, 2022 dismissed the minister in charge of reconstruction of Fukushima and other disaster-hit areas.
Kenya Akiba, minister in charge of reconstruction of Fukushima and other disaster-hit areas becomes the fourth minister to be dismissed in two months as Kishida tries to patch a scandal-tainted Cabinet that has raised questions over his judgment of staff credentials.
Akiba has faced allegations of mismanaging political and election funds and of having murky ties to the Unification Church, whose cozy political ties and practices surrounding followers’ huge donations have raised controversy.
“I have made a heavy decision and submitted my resignation,” Akiba disclosed after meeting with Kishida.
Akiba reiterated that he has never violated any law in relation to the issues for which he has been criticized and that he was resigning because he did not want to trouble the party or delay parliamentary debate because of his presence in the Cabinet.
Kishida tapped Former Reconstruction Minister, Hiromichi Watanabe as Akiba’s replacement. Watanabe’s appointment was to be official after a palace ceremony.
Akiba’s dismissal is perceived as Kishida’s attempt to remove an administration’s soft spot that could stall upcoming parliamentary work on a key budget bill, including hefty defense spending aimed at bolstering Japan’s strike capability.
Jun Azumi, a senior lawmaker of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan who has criticized Kishida for making other slow decisions on his staff, said that “four (dismissals) are too much and the Prime Minister should be held responsible over their appointment.”
While Kishida has made some of the drastic changes to defense and energy policies, including a new security strategy and maximizing nuclear energy, he is also seen as being indecisive and slow in risk management of his own government.
Also on Tuesday, Prime Minister Kishida accepted the resignation of Internal Affairs Minister, Mio Sugita, who has made derogatory remarks against sexual and ethnic minorities in the past.
Sugita said in 2018 that same-sex couples do not produce children and are “unproductive” and in 2016, she scoffed at those wearing traditional ethnic costumes at a United Nations’ committee meeting as “middle-aged women in costume play.”
Kishida disclosed that Sugita submitted her resignation saying that she cannot bend her personal beliefs while she retracted some of her earlier comments.
Prime Minister’s Popularity Has Fallen
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had been seen as a stable choice as leader and he won the July elections with a prospect of a three-year mandate to achieve his policies until the next scheduled vote. However, his popularity has plummeted over the Liberal Democratic Party’s widespread church ties that surfaced after the assassination of Former Leader Shinzo Abe.
The suspected shooter told investigators that his mother’s donations to the church bankrupted his family and ruined his life. The shooter reportedly targeted Abe as a key figure behind the church’s ties to Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) led government.
Revelations have since surfaced about many LDP lawmakers having friendly ties to the church, which has been criticized as allegedly brainwashing followers into making huge donations. A new law passed by Parliament earlier this month aims to restrict such activities.
This new law allows believers, other donors and their families to seek the return of their money and prohibits religious groups and other organizations from soliciting funds by coercion, threats or linking donations to spiritual salvation.
Economic Revitalization Minister, Daishiro Yamagiwa quit on October 24, 2022 after failing to explain his ties to the Unification Church.
In early November, Justice Minister Yasuhiro Hanashi resigned after remarking that his job is low profile and only makes news when he signs the death penalty.
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