Japan sacks 4th minister to patch up scandal-hit cabinet

TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday dismissed his fourth minister in two months to patch a scandal-tainted cabinet that has raised questions over his judgment of staff credentials.

Kenya Akiba, minister in charge of the reconstruction of Fukushima and other disaster-hit areas, has faced allegations of mishandling political and election funds and of having murky ties to the Unification Church, in which its 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 Kishida. He repeated that he had never violated any law in relation to the issues for which he has been criticized.

Kishida tapped former reconstruction minister Hiromichi Watanabe as a replacement. Watanabe's appointment was to be official after a palace ceremony.

"I take my responsibility very seriously as the one who appoints (ministers)," Kishida said to reporters after confirming that Akiba had quit.

"By rising to my political responsibilities, I hope to be fulfilling my duties as prime minister."

Jun Azumi, a senior lawmaker of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan who has criticized Kishida for 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 appointments".

Kishida also replaced Internal Affairs Minister Mio Sugita, who has made past derogatory remarks. Kishida said Sugita submitted her resignation saying that she cannot bend her personal beliefs. She had retracted some of her earlier comments.

Economic Revitalization Minister Daishiro Yamagiwa quit on Oct 24 after failing to explain his ties to the Unification Church. In early November, Justice Minister Yasuhiro Hanashi resigned after remarking that his job is low profile and only makes news when he signs the death penalty.

The sect has been in the spotlight since reports emerged that the man accused of killing former prime minister Shinzo Abe in July resented the church over donations his mother made that bankrupted the family.

Approval ratings for Kishida's cabinet have been hovering near the so-called danger level of 30 percent, media reported. Speculation has mounted that Kishida plans to overhaul his cabinet by early next month to boost his sagging popularity, with the newspaper Sankei reporting on Friday that some ruling party members have floated Jan 10 as a possible date, Reuters reported.

Kishida did not rule out a reshuffle, but played down the possibility that it could happen within the next week or two.

"I don't mean to say I won't ever consider a cabinet reshuffle, I'm just saying I'm not considering one over the New Year holidays," he said.

Xinhua