Japan replaces 4 ministers to restore trust

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida replaced four ministers within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday in an effort to restore people's trust in the party.

Kishida has chosen Yoshimasa Hayashi as the new chief cabinet secretary, succeeding Hirokazu Matsuno. Hayashi, who served as foreign minister before Kishida's cabinet reshuffle in September, had served as chairman of the Japan-China Parliamentary Friendship Association.

"As a politician originally holding beliefs in Japan-China friendship, much attention is focused on whether Hayashi will make an effort to steer the Kishida administration's approach toward China in a more normal direction," said Takakage Fujita, secretary-general of the Association for Inheriting and Propagating the Murayama Statement, a Japanese civic group dedicated to upholding the 1995 Murayama Statement that admits Japan's wartime mistakes.

Former justice minister Ken Saito was tapped to be the minister of economy, trade and industry, replacing Yasutoshi Nishimura.

Tetsushi Sakamoto, the former minister in charge of regional revitalization, is anticipated to take over from Ichiro Miyashita as the minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

Takeaki Matsumoto is set to return to the role of internal affairs minister, succeeding Junji Suzuki.

The officials being replaced are suspected of having received unreported kickbacks from the LDP's largest faction, previously led by the late former prime minister Shinzo Abe, with some receiving more than 10 million yen ($70,685).

The Abe faction has established specific quotas on the sale of tickets for fundraising events, and excess revenue was allegedly being occasionally returned to the lawmakers without being recorded in the faction's financial statements.

Fundraising scandal

Ukeru Magosaki, co-representative of the Association for Inheriting and Propagating the Murayama Statement, said this issue cannot be resolved by simply having key figures from the Abe faction resign from key posts, with investigations, prosecutions and trials expected to follow.

Experts noted that the incident is a significantly large political fundraising scandal in the postwar history of Japan and may have a major impact on Kishida's cabinet.

"The Kishida administration is expected to remain in a precarious situation, susceptible to collapse at any time," Magosaki said.

Japanese prosecutors are putting in full effort to pursue the case. Some LDP politicians are highly likely to face prosecution.

"The Japanese prosecutors aim to conclude everything before the start of the Japanese parliament in January next year. Therefore, this one-month period will be critical, and significant events are likely to unfold during this period," said Fujita, who anticipates a tumultuous political situation in Japan.

Satoshi Tomisaka, a professor at the Institute of World Studies at Takushoku University in Tokyo, said the secret slush funds issue is considered a prelude to the dismantling of the Abe faction.

"The extent of the Kishida faction's presence within the LDP will depend on how they handle the situation, especially regarding how they address allegations against members of the Abe faction," Tomisaka said.