Japanese Prime Minister resigns after scandals involving Unification Church ties and illegal funds…Steps down after 3 years

Kishida “Political Distrust Arises”… Punishment for Illegal Funds Scandal and Political Funds Law Not Meeting People’s Standards
Support Rate Plummets from 57% in Inaugural Year to 10-20%… Party Members Turn their Backs in the Face of Cold Public Opinion,
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, ‘(Tokyo=Yonhap News) by Park Sung-jin = The interpretation that outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s decision on the upcoming ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presidential election at the end of next month, and giving up his challenge for re-election as prime minister on the 14th, was dealt a final blow by last year’s scandal over illegal funds within the LDP.’,
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, ” With the revelation of the ruling party’s unethical political funding practices, the Cabinet support rate has remained at a ‘resignation crisis’ level of 10-20%, failing to recover, leading to defeat in every election due to the cold public sentiment.”,
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, ‘ Despite this, Prime Minister Kishida had a chance to run in the next presidential election, but as party members turned their backs due to the cold public sentiment, he eventually raised the white flag.’,
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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida declaring not to run in the presidential election on the 14th
[AP Yonhap News. Redistribution and DB Prohibition],
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, Support Rate Surged Over 50% Early in Term… Dropped due to Suspicions of Ties between LDP and Unification Church, ‘ At a press conference this morning, Prime Minister Kishida declared, “The most visible first step to show the change in the LDP is my stepping down,” announcing his decision not to run in the next presidential election.’,
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, ‘ He stated, “A series of events causing political distrust among the people, such as problems surrounding the defunct Unification Church and the political and financial issues of the factions within the LDP, led me to decide not to run, ” pointing to the suspicions of ties between the LDP and the Unification Church (Family Federation for World Peace and Unification) and the scandal of illegal funds within the LDP as the reasons for his decision.’,
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, ‘ Prime Minister Kishida took office as the 100th prime minister in October 2021.’,
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, ‘ Immediately after taking office, in the lower house election, the LDP secured a majority of 261 seats alone, establishing a stable ruling base.’,
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, ‘ According to a survey by the public broadcaster NHK, his cabinet support rate reached up to 57% in January 2022, his second year in office, and he was praised for securing a long-term ruling base by winning a landslide victory in the upper house election in July of the same year.’,
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, ‘ However, the shooting incident that led to the death of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during the upper house election campaign right before the election marked the beginning of a downhill path for Prime Minister Kishida.’,
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, ‘ The assailant who shot Abe, citing that “his family was ruined through large donations to the Unification Church,” stated, “I thought criticism would focus on the Unification Church if I attacked Abe.”‘,
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, ‘ Subsequently, as the ties between the Unification Church and key politicians of the LDP were revealed in the media one after another, ministers resigned one after another, and Prime Minister Kishida’s approval ratings fell to the 20-30% range for the first time at the end of that year.’,
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Japanese Prime Minister speaking at the LDP’s Political Innovation Headquarters meeting
(Tokyo Bureau= Yonhap News) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (center) speaks at a political innovation headquarters meeting of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party held in Tokyo on January 23 this year. Kishida announced the dissolution of the faction he led, the ‘Kishida faction,’ but Asoda Daro, LDP deputy leader (right), and Motegi Toshimitsu, LDP secretary-general (left), decided to retain the factions they lead. 2024.1.24 photo@yna.co.kr,
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, LDP Illegal Funds Scandal a ‘Fatal Blow’… Support Rate Plunges to ‘Resignation Crisis’ of 10-20%, ‘ Prime Minister Kishida regained stability and emerged from the political crisis as his approval rating surged back over 50% last year, based on diplomatic achievements such as improving Japan-Korea relations, U.S.-Japan summit, and the G7 summit in Hiroshima.’,
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, ‘ However, he suffered a severe blow at the end of the same year due to the scandal involving illegal funds within the LDP factions.’,
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, ” Various factions, including the largest faction in the LDP, the Abe faction, hosted political fundraising events, where they redistributed excess funds to lawmakers beyond their share as part of ‘party rights.’ There were allegations that this excess money was not reflected in faction financial reports or individual members’ accounting, leading to illegal funding.”,
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, ‘ As these suspicions were confirmed through prosecutorial investigations, four officials responsible for the Abe faction were virtually dismissed over the illegal funds scandal, and current lawmakers from the Abe faction, the Nikai faction, and the Kishida faction were indicted. The public’s political distrust grew.’,
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, ‘ Prime Minister Kishida demonstrated a will for political reform by dissolving his faction, the Kishida faction, implicated in the illegal funds scandal.’,
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, ‘ However, criticism arose that the punishment scope and intensity by the LDP towards members involved in illegal funds was too lenient, and the public found it incomprehensible that Prime Minister Kishida, as the LDP leader, did not become the subject of disciplinary action.’,
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, ‘ Furthermore, amidst the fallout from the illegal funds scandal, the revised Political Funds Law fell short of public expectations, and conflicts arose between Prime Minister Kishida and LDP’s Deputy Leader Asoda Daro and Secretary-General Motegi Toshimitsu over issues like faction abolition, further isolating Prime Minister Kishida within the LDP.’,
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, ‘ Since the illegal funds scandal at the end of last year, Prime Minister Kishida’s cabinet support rate remained in the 10-20% range, leading to consecutive defeats for the LDP in this year’s elections.’,
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, ‘ After suffering losses in by-elections in three constituencies in April and the Shizuoka Prefecture governor election in May, the LDP also experienced defeats in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly by-election in July, exposing the persistent dissatisfaction with the LDP.’,
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, ‘ Prime Minister Kishida did not clearly state his position on running in the next presidential election, but voices within the LDP that “Prime Minister Kishida cannot fight in the next lower house election” emerged one after another, leading to his eventual ‘surrender.”,
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, ‘ As of today, Prime Minister Kishida’s tenure stands at 1,046 days, making him the eighth longest-serving prime minister in history.’,
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Graphic of Japanese Cabinet Approval Rating under Kishida’s Administration
(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Min-ji = minfo@yna.co.kr
X(Twitter) @yonhap_graphics Facebook tuney.kr/LeYN1,
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, ‘ sungjinpark@yna.co.kr’,
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