Japanese interior minister resigns in third resignation of Kishida government in less than a month

Story by Daniel Stewart • Sunday, Nov 29,2022

Japan's Interior Minister Minoru Terada resigned Sunday over a bribery scandal in what is the third resignation of an official in Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government in less than four weeks.

Japanese Minister of the Interior, Minoru Terada - RODRIGO REYES MARIN / ZUMA PRESS / CONTACTOPHOTO© Provided by News 360

"I have just submitted (my) resignation to the prime minister," the minister said Sunday, blaming his resignation on "political problems" that could not "become an obstacle."

'Shukan Bunshun' magazine reported that Terada paid around 40,000 yen (280 euros) as a reward to six local assembly members in his constituency in Hiroshima prefecture for their support in his election campaign in October last year. Such payments are prohibited by the election law for public office.

The minister had also admitted to parliament that his local support group had listed a deceased person as treasurer in its annual political fundraising report.

Related video: Japan's Kishida battered by resignations: Kishida's cabinet approval rating slips below 30%

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Terada, a close associate of Kishida who served as a special adviser before taking the cabinet post, has insisted that he was not responsible for the documents, as the support group is headed by someone else, Japan's official Kyodo news agency reports.

Kishida, according to the media outlet, plans to appoint fellow Liberal Democratic Party deputy and former foreign minister Takeaki Matsumoto as Terada's successor, according to a source close to the prime minister. The announcement will be official this Monday morning.

Last October 24, the Minister of Economic Revitalization, Daishiro Yamagiwa, resigned because of his ties with the Unification Church, now a target of criticism after the assassin of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe denounced the relations between the organization and Japanese politicians.

More recently, Kishida dismissed then Justice Minister Yasuhiro Hanashi on November 11 after frivolous comments on the death penalty.

Approval of the Japanese prime minister's government is at rock bottom with only 33 percent approval, according to the latest survey by Japanese public television NHK, the lowest since he was elected prime minister in October 2021.

It is the fourth consecutive month of falling approval for Kishida's cabinet and the 33 percent figure is down 5 points from the previous month. In contrast, the rate of disapproval of the Kishida government's work has risen three points to 46 percent.