Four Japanese ministers quit ahead of PM’s ‘ball of fire’

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will replace four key ministers as he races to contain the fallout from a donations funding scandal that has engulfed his leadership and the future of the Japanese government.

Kishida’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, Internal Affairs Minister Junji Suzuki and Agriculture Minister Ichiro Miyashita all resigned on Thursday as Tokyo prosecutors probed a political donations scheme that led to senior government figures receiving undeclared kickbacks.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s approval ratings have hit record lows. Credit: Aresna Villanueva

The four resigned before they were pushed after Kishida declared he would overhaul his cabinet on Wednesday night.

“I will take the lead in fighting to rebuild the ways of the Liberal Democratic Party [LDP] to restore trust in politics,” he said. “We will tackle the various issues surrounding political funds head-on. I will make efforts like a ball of fire and lead the LDP to restore the public’s trust.”

The Yomiuri newspaper reported on Thursday that Tokyo prosecutors were preparing to raid the offices of MPs linked to the scandal that has rocked the government for the past week.

It is alleged the MPs sold millions of yen worth of extra tickets to political fundraisers that were never declared, with the money ending up in their accounts.

The investigation follows a damaging few months for Kishida who now faces the biggest test of his premiership as falling confidence in his ability to revive a battered economy has sent his cabinet’s approval ratings plummeting.

Kishida’s approval rating is now just 21 per cent, according to the monthly Mainichi poll, the lowest level of any government in more than a decade. His cabinet disapproval rating has risen 6 percentage points to 74 per cent.

The Constitutional Democratic Party led an unsuccessful no-confidence motion against the LDP on Wednesday.

“The LDP has no self-cleansing ability,” said Opposition Leader Kenta Izumi. “Prime minister, aren’t you aware that the LDP and its factions caused an unparalleled scandal? Isn’t the lack of your crisis control capability catastrophic?”

Sota Kato, the research director at the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, said it was the most dangerous time of Kishida’s thirty-year political career.

“He’s not really trusted at this point by the public,” he said.

The collapse in public support has been fuelled by voters’ frustrations over the economy. Kishida has been unable to shake perceptions that he leads a big-spending, revenue-hungry government stymying economic growth.

In December last year, he proposed hiking taxes to fund defence spending. Then in October, he called for tax cuts to be passed by Parliament to give relief to voters. On Tuesday, thousands voted for “tax” as the Kanji character of the year – in an annual poll that is seen as a reflection of the national mood.

“He’s inconsistent,” said Kato. “People suspected that he was trying to be nice for a while to gain popularity. They see through that.”

Economic growth has fallen by almost 3 per cent since this time last year, driven 18 months of real wage decreases.

Capital Economics’ Marcel Thieliant said with real household incomes set to fall further “that bodes ill for consumer spending, which we expect to grind to a standstill next year”.

Japan’s economy has struggled to recover from COVID-19. Credit: visualspace

The ominous economic outlook has compounded dwindling public support for Kishida and his ruling Liberal Democratic Party [LDP] ahead of an internal election in September and a general election in 2025.

The four resignations could be just the start of a wider purge.

The Asahi newspaper reported on Monday that as many as 15 MPs from former prime minister Shinzo Abe’s old faction were embroiled in the scheme. The faction is the largest in the LDP and Kishida has so far relied on their support to prop up his power base as the leader of the fourth-largest faction, Kochikai.

Vice Defence Minister Hiroyuki Miyazawa, a member of the Abe faction, said on Wednesday he had been told to keep silent about the scheme and that it was “OK to not enter” register the donations with authorities.

Kishida’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno Hirokazu, who is also a member of Abe’s faction, survived a no-confidence motion in the lower house over his role in the slush fund on Tuesday but resigned on Thursday.

“In light of the various allegations made regarding political funds, which have shaken the public trust in politics, and the various allegations made regarding my own political funds, I have submitted my resignation,” Matsuno said.

Japan’s national broadcaster NHK said Tokyo prosecutors were also investigating whether Kishida’s faction had also under-reported fundraising income.

Kato said the situation could become a crisis or an opportunity for Kishida.

“If he takes really strong action against the Abe faction, the public could support that,” said Kato.

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in October.Credit: Bloomberg

“If the public opinion moves, then the intra-LDP factions cannot win.”

The LDP has governed Japan for most of the past century due to a diverse and fractured opposition. Still, it has a history of pushing prime ministers through a revolving door as their public popularity falls.

Kishida came to power in 2021 after his predecessor Yoshihide Suga lasted less than a year in the post.

With Reuters

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