2023-12-14 05:31:00
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida replaced four of his ministers on Thursday to try to put out the fire caused by a vast financial fraud scandal within his party, which is also further weakening it.
Yoshimasa Hayashi, who lost his post as foreign minister in a reshuffle in September, replaced Hirokazu Matsuno in the key post of secretary-general and government spokesperson.
Former short-lived Minister of Justice under Mr. Kishida, Ken Saito takes the head of the powerful Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (Meti) in place of Yasutoshi Nishimura.
Takeaki Matsumoto returns to Internal Affairs to replace Junji Suzuki, and Tetsushi Sakamoto takes the reins of Agriculture in place of Ichiro Miyashita.
Five vice-ministers and other officials also splashed by the scandal within the Liberal Democratic Party (PLD, conservative right) led by Mr. Kishida have also left.
According to the Japanese press, prosecutors are investigating suspected fraud targeting dozens of members of the PLD, the political group which has governed the country almost without interruption since its founding in 1955.
These members of the PLD are suspected of having failed to declare the equivalent of several million euros, collected through the sale of tickets for fundraising evenings and which the party then allegedly paid to them.
Investigators are said to be particularly interested in members of the PLD’s largest internal faction led by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated last year. They would have received some 500 million yen (3.2 million euros) over a period of five years until 2022.
The four ministers sacked on Thursday were all part of this faction. However, the scandal would also affect members of Mr. Kishida’s own faction, according to local media.
Unpopular “fireball”
Judging “extremely regrettable that the situation has aroused distrust among the population”, Mr. Kishida, 66, promised on Wednesday to “turn into a ball of fire to restore confidence in the government” and to “proceed quickly” to new appointments Thursday.
This affair has further “considerably weakened public support for the LDP and the Kishida government”, estimates Naofumi Fujimura, professor of political science at Kobe University (west) interviewed by AFP.
Arriving in power in the fall of 2021, Mr. Kishida had already seen his popularity crumble before the gradual revelation by the media of this new scandal. He is now only credited with 17.1% favorable opinions according to a poll released Thursday by the Japanese news agency Jiji, a drop of 4.2 points compared to the previous month.
Voters “express their concern about the scandal and the perceived lack of responsibility of political leaders”, according to Mr. Fujimura who, however, considers political alternation unlikely in Japan given the weakness and dispersion of the opposition parties.
The PLD factions, inherited from the parties that merged to give birth to it, are internal coalitions organized around charismatic figures who attract members by promising them electoral support and ministerial positions.
None equals the Abe faction in power, even a year and a half after the death of the former leader: “Its strength lies in the considerable number of its members” (99), explains Mr. Fujimura, according to whom “this numerical superiority allowed him to exercise significant influence over the selection of the Prime Minister and the maintenance of the government”.
By ousting his team members, Mr. Kishida runs the risk of losing the support of the influential Abe faction and “this rupture could complicate the management” of the government, adds this specialist in Japanese politics.
Even before this latest scandal, Mr. Kishida’s popularity rating was already weighed down by other areas of discontent, including persistent inflation and the fall in the yen which are weakening the purchasing power of households despite the announcement last month. latest in a massive new fiscal stimulus plan.
The Prime Minister can theoretically stay in power until 2025, but some analysts speculate on the possible calling of early elections before an internal vote in the PLD next year which could prove very difficult for him.
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12/14/2023 13:33:51 – Tokyo (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
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