Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida yesterday dismissed his fourth minister in two months to patch a scandal-tainted Cabinet that has raised questions over his judgement of staff credentials.
Kenya Akiba, who was Japanese minister for reconstruction, has faced allegations of mishandling political and election funds, and of having murky ties to the Unification Church, whose cozy political ties and practices surrounding followers’ huge donations have raised controversy.
“I have made a heavy decision and submitted my resignation,” Akiba told reporters after meeting with Kishida.
Photo: AFP
He said he had not contravened any laws in relation to the issues over which he has been criticized.
Kishida tapped former Japanese minister for reconstruction Hiromichi Watanabe as a replacement. Watanabe’s appointment would be made official after a palace ceremony.
Akiba’s dismissal was seen as Kishida’s attempt to remove a soft spot in the administration that could stall upcoming parliamentary work on a key budget bill, including hefty defense spending aimed at bolstering Japan’s strike capability.
Jun Azumi, a senior lawmaker of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan who has criticized Kishida as making other slow decisions on his staff, said on Monday that “four [dismissals] are too much and the prime minister should be held responsible over their appointment.”
Kishida yesterday also replaced Mio Sugita as Japanese vice minister for internal affairs and communications. She has made past derogatory remarks against sexual and ethnic minorities.
Sugita in 2018 said that same-sex couples do not produce children and are “unproductive,” and in 2016 scoffed at those wearing traditional ethnic costumes at an UN’ committee meeting as “middle-aged women in costume play.”
Sugita submitted her resignation saying that she cannot bend her beliefs, while retracting some of her earlier comments, Kishida said.
Kishida had been seen as a stable choice as leader after his victory in July, but his popularity has plummeted over the Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) widespread church ties that surfaced after the assassination of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.
The suspected shooter told investigators that his mother’s donations to the church had bankrupted his family and ruined his life.
He reportedly targeted Abe as a key figure behind the church’s ties to Japan’s LDP-led government.
Revelations have since surfaced about many LDP lawmakers having ties to the church, which has been criticized for allegedly brainwashing followers into making huge donations. A new law passed by the Japanese parliament earlier this month aims to restrict such activities.
Daishiro Yamagiwa quit as Japanese minister of economic revitalization on Oct. 24 after failing to explain his ties to the Unification Church.
Early last month, Yasuhiro Hanashi resigned as Japanese minister of justice after saying that his job is low-profile and only makes the news when he signs the death penalty.
END OF AN ERA: The vote brings the curtain down on 20 years of socialist rule, which began in 2005 when Evo Morales, an indigenous coca farmer, was elected president A center-right senator and a right-wing former president are to advance to a run-off for Bolivia’s presidency after the first round of elections on Sunday, marking the end of two decades of leftist rule, preliminary official results showed. Bolivian Senator Rodrigo Paz was the surprise front-runner, with 32.15 percent of the vote cast in an election dominated by a deep economic crisis, results published by the electoral commission showed. He was followed by former Bolivian president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga in second with 26.87 percent, according to results based on 92 percent of votes cast. Millionaire businessman Samuel Doria Medina, who had been tipped
ELECTION DISTRACTION? When attention shifted away from the fight against the militants to politics, losses and setbacks in the battlefield increased, an analyst said Recent clashes in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Jubaland region are alarming experts, exposing cracks in the country’s federal system and creating an opening for militant group al-Shabaab to gain ground. Following years of conflict, Somalia is a loose federation of five semi-autonomous member states — Puntland, Jubaland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle and South West — that maintain often fractious relations with the central government in the capital, Mogadishu. However, ahead of elections next year, Somalia has sought to assert control over its member states, which security analysts said has created gaps for al-Shabaab infiltration. Last week, two Somalian soldiers were killed in clashes between pro-government forces and
Ten cheetah cubs held in captivity since birth and destined for international wildlife trade markets have been rescued in Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia. They were all in stable condition despite all of them having been undernourished and limping due to being tied in captivity for months, said Laurie Marker, founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, which is caring for the cubs. One eight-month-old cub was unable to walk after been tied up for six months, while a five-month-old was “very malnourished [a bag of bones], with sores all over her body and full of botfly maggots which are under the
BRUSHED OFF: An ambassador to Australia previously said that Beijing does not see a reason to apologize for its naval exercises and military maneuvers in international areas China set off alarm bells in New Zealand when it dispatched powerful warships on unprecedented missions in the South Pacific without explanation, military documents showed. Beijing has spent years expanding its reach in the southern Pacific Ocean, courting island nations with new hospitals, freshly paved roads and generous offers of climate aid. However, these diplomatic efforts have increasingly been accompanied by more overt displays of military power. Three Chinese warships sailed the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand in February, the first time such a task group had been sighted in those waters. “We have never seen vessels with this capability