Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida yesterday sought to brush off a magazine report that questioned election expenses from last year by saying that while some receipts his office submitted did not include complete information, the money had been spent appropriately.
Kishida also denied domestic media reports that he was thinking of reshuffling his Cabinet in the next few weeks.
Kishida’s support has tumbled to its lowest since he took office in October last year and he has been trying to repair damage after a series of scandals forced him to replace three ministers in the space of a month.
Photo: Reuters
Although he need not face another election for more than two years, sagging approval ratings make it more difficult for Kishida to control his party and push policy pledges through parliament, including an increase in defense spending.
On top of this, Kishida is also struggling to deal with the country’s highest inflation in decades.
“I’m aware of the media reports, but I’m not thinking of that at all,” Kishida said when asked about plans to reshuffle the Cabinet. “I must focus on parliament now.”
An online report by Bunshun magazine emerged this week about incomplete receipts relating to his campaign for the general election last year.
The prime minister said he would instruct his office to make sure such problems do not recur.
He said that he did not know the total amount involved, but believed that the items purchased included things such as food from a convenience store and stationery.
The money was spent appropriately, in accordance with a report to which the receipts were attached, he said.
Kishida, who came to office buoyed by a clean image, was battered by a scandal over his party’s links to the Unification Church, which has a long list of court rulings against it over its fundraising methods.
The religious group came under renewed scrutiny after former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was fatally shot in July by a man who cited a grudge over the former leader’s ties to the church.
The man blamed the group, whose members are known as “Moonies,” for bankrupting his family by taking excessive donations from his mother.
Hundreds of protesters marched through the Mexican capital on Friday denouncing gentrification caused by foreigners, with some vandalizing businesses and shouting “gringos out!” The demonstration in the capital’s central area turned violent when hooded individuals smashed windows, damaged restaurant furniture and looted a clothing store. Mexico City Government Secretary Cesar Cravioto said 15 businesses and public facilities were damaged in what he called “xenophobic expressions” similar to what Mexican migrants have suffered in other countries. “We are a city of open arms... there are always ways to negotiate, to sit at the table,” Cravioto told Milenio television. Neighborhoods like Roma-Condesa
‘CONTINUE TO SERVE’: The 90-year-old Dalai Lama said he hoped to be able to continue serving ‘sentient beings and the Buddha Dharma’ for decades to come The Dalai Lama yesterday said he dreamed of living for decades more, as the Buddhist spiritual leader prayed with thousands of exiled Tibetans on the eve of his 90th birthday. Thumping drums and deep horns reverberated from the Indian hilltop temple, as a chanting chorus of red-robed monks and nuns offered long-life prayers for Tenzin Gyatso, who followers believe is the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Looking in good health, dressed in traditional maroon monk robes and a flowing yellow wrap, he led prayers — days after confirming that the 600-year-old Tibetan Buddhist institution would continue after his death. Many exiled Tibetans
Dozens of residents have evacuated remote islands in southern Japan that have been shaken by nearly 1,600 earthquakes in recent weeks, the local mayor said yesterday. There has been no major physical damage on hardest-hit Akuseki island, even after a magnitude 5.1 quake that struck overnight, said Toshima Mayor Genichiro Kubo, who is based on another island. However, the almost nonstop jolts since June 21 have caused severe stress to area residents, many of whom have been deprived of sleep. Of the 89 residents of Akuseki, 44 had evacuated to the regional hub of Kagoshima by Sunday, while 15 others also left another
CEREMONY EXPECTED: Abdullah Ocalan said he believes in the power of politics and social peace, not weapons, and called on the group to put that into practice The jailed leader of a Kurdish militant group yesterday renewed a call for his fighters to lay down their arms, days before a symbolic disarmament ceremony is expected to take place as a first concrete step in a peace process with the Turkish state. In a seven-minute video message broadcast on pro-Kurdish Medya Haber’s YouTube channel, Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), said that the peace initiative had reached a stage that required practical steps. “It should be considered natural for you to publicly ensure the disarmament of the relevant groups in a way that addresses the expectations