Kishida Reshuffles 4 Cabinet Posts over Funds Scandal
Tokyo, Dec. 14 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday reshuffled four posts in his cabinet amid a high-profile funds scandal involving the largest faction of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
The prime minister replaced Hirokazu Matsuno as chief cabinet secretary with former Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, 62; Junji Suzuki as internal affairs and communications minister with Takeaki Matsumoto, 64, who returned to the post; Ichiro Miyashita as agriculture, forestry and fisheries minister with former regional revitalization minister Tetsushi Sakamoto, 73; and Yasutoshi Nishimura as economy, trade and industry minister with former Justice Minister Ken Saito, 64.
Matsuno, Suzuki, Miyashita and Nishimura, who all belong to the embattled LDP faction formerly led by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, submitted their resignations in the morning.
The four new cabinet members took office after an attestation ceremony at the Imperial Palace in the afternoon.
Speaking to reporters at the prime minister's office in the evening, Kishida explained that he selected the new cabinet members as they "can start work immediately with the ability to coordinate, implement and answer questions."
Asked why he removed only the faction's members from the cabinet, Kishida said, "I considered the intentions and circumstances of each individual, rather than what policy groups they belong to."
Kishida also replaced five state ministers, a parliamentary vice minister and a special adviser to the prime minister.
In addition, Kishida, president of the LDP, plans to replace three senior party officials from the same faction after the government's budget bill for fiscal 2024 is finalized on Dec. 22. He indicated this plan when he met with Natsuo Yamaguchi, leader of Komeito, the LDP's junior coalition partner, on Thursday.
"I will (replace them) at an appropriate time within this year," Kishida said.
Kishida indicated that he will decide what preventive measures to implement after finding out the full picture of the funds scandal and its cause.
Of the three party officials to be replaced, LDP Policy Research Council head Koichi Hagiuda submitted his resignation to Kishida on Thursday. Kishida asked Hagiuda to stay on until his successor is appointed.
LDP Diet Affairs Committee chief Tsuyoshi Takagi and Hiroshige Seko, secretary-general of the LDP in the House of Councillors, also submitted their resignations.
Kishida is considering appointing former Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada, 68, as parliamentary affairs chief.
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