TOKYO
Japan PM Fumio Kishida Cabinet: Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida sacked his fourth minister from the post on Tuesday in two months.
This exercise of PM Fumio is being seen as a way of saving the reputation of the cabinet surrounded by scams. The minister in charge of rebuilding Fukushima and other disaster-hit areas was Kenya Akiba.
He has been accused of misuse of political and election funds. Along with this, the matter of his connection with the Unification Church has also come to the fore.
Akiba told reporters after meeting PM Kishida that I have taken a big decision and submitted my resignation. He reiterated that he has never violated any law in relation to the issues for which he has been criticized.
Kishida replaced Akiba with former Reconstruction Minister Hiromichi Watanabe in the cabinet. If Akiba was not sacked, the major budget bill could get stuck in the upcoming parliamentary work. This included heavy defence spending aimed at strengthening Japan’s striking capability.
Jun Azumi, a senior leader of Japan’s main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, criticized Prime Minister Kishida for his slow decision-making. He said on Monday that the dismissal of four ministers is too many. Prime Minister Kishida should be held responsible for this.
