2024-03-01 22:19:26
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will appear in person before the parliamentary ethics committee amid a corruption scandal in the ruling party. As Day.Az reports, Bloomberg agency reported this.
“I myself, as the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), will speak out and fulfill my duty to explain myself to the media,” the politician said.
The committee meeting is scheduled to take place on Thursday, February 29. The key unresolved issue is the openness of the process. Usually such hearings are held behind closed doors, but Kishida may insist on the presence of journalists.
The scandal involves accusations that funds bribed a number of major members of the LDP and failed to declare their income. The Prime Minister of Japan is not related to the accusations; former Trade Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura and former Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno resigned.
The authors say the main reason why Kishida wants to personally speak out and resolve the issue is the desire to increase confidence in the cabinet. An earlier poll by the Mainichi newspaper found that 82 percent of respondents disapproved of the current government, the lowest level since 1947.
This situation is complicated by the September party leadership elections, after which Kishida could hypothetically be replaced in favor of more popular politicians. The LDP has ruled Japan almost continuously since the end of World War II.
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