Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday he would tackle a major funding scandal within his party “like a ball of fire”, with reports saying he will sack four ministers.
The furore surrounds allegations of kickbacks of 500 million yen ($3.4 million) within Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party, which has governed the world’s number three economy almost uninterrupted for decades.
Kishida, whose poll ratings are the lowest for any premier since the LDP returned to power in 2012, told a news conference that he planned to make personnel changes on Thursday, without giving details.
“We would like to make personnel appointments tomorrow (Thursday). We are currently coordinating and having consultations as we speak,” 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.”
Media reports said that those to be axed include Kishida’s right-hand man, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, and Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister for economy, industry and trade.
Others are internal affairs minister Junji Suzuki and agriculture minister Ichiro Miyashita, plus five deputy ministers, the Yomiuri Shimbun, Kyodo News and other media reported, citing unnamed government and party sources.
All those set to be sacked are from the largest faction within the LDP which used to be headed by ex-premier Shinzo Abe who was assassinated last year.
– ‘Easy and great’ –
The kickbacks allegedly went to party members who exceeded their ticket sales quotas for party fundraising events.
“If you are confident of selling (tickets), if you sell more than you are obliged to sell, that will all become your income, so that’s easy and great,” a senior official who used to work in the office of an LDP lawmaker told broadcaster ANN, his face concealed and his voice disguised.
After the closure of the current parliament session on Wednesday, prosecutors will accelerate their investigation into the allegations, with plans of interviewing dozens of Abe-faction lawmakers, the Yomiuri daily said.
Another of those reportedly implicated is former Olympics minister Seiko Hashimoto.
The scandal reportedly widened earlier this week to a faction within the LDP headed until recently by Kishida.
The opposition filed a no-confidence motion in his cabinet on Wednesday but it was defeated with the government’s majority.
Kishida’s poll ratings have tumbled since taking office in October 2021 because of voter unhappiness about inflation as well as a string of other scandals.
This is despite a previous cabinet reshuffle in September and a stimulus package worth 17 trillion yen ($117 billion) announced in November for the world’s third-largest economy.
Kishida can govern until 2025 but there has been speculation that he might call a snap election ahead of a likely tough internal leadership vote in the LDP next year.
