JAPANESE Prime Minister Fumio Kishida replaced four ministers Thursday as the unpopular leader reels from a major corruption scandal in the ruling party.
The furore centres on alleged kickbacks of 500 million yen ($3.4 million) in the faction-riven Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has governed the world’s third-largest economy almost uninterrupted for decades.
Media reports suggested that prosecutors would begin raiding offices and interviewing dozens of lawmakers later this week.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno was replaced by former foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, a high-ranking member of Kishida’s LDP faction.
Ken Saito replaced Yasutoshi Nishimura as Economy and Industry Minister while Takeaki Matsumoto returned to his old post as internal affairs minister, replacing Junji Suzuki.
New Agriculture Minister Tetsushi Sakamoto took over after Ichiro Miyashita also tendered his resignation.
Michiko Ueno, a special adviser to the prime minister, also left office along with five deputy ministers.
“The public’s doubts are around me over political funds, which is leading to distrust in the government. As an investigation is going on, I thought I wanted to set things right,” Nishimura told reporters.
Kishida said on Wednesday he would deal with the allegations “head-on”.
“I will make efforts like a ball of fire and lead the LDP to restore the public’s trust,” he told reporters.
Kishida’s poll ratings are the worst for any premier since the LDP returned to power in 2012 because of voter anger about inflation, as well as his handling of a string of earlier scandals.
A new poll published by Jiji Press on Thursday showed public support for Kishida’s cabinet at just 17.1 percent, down 4.2 percentage points.
