News PM Kishida reshuffles cabinet over Unification Church backlash

[thomas]

Yesterday, PM Kishida reshuffled his cabinet in an apparent bid to distance the administration from the LDP's involvement with the Unification Church. Still, five members of the new cabinet have ties to the cult. Ministers who retained their posts include

• Yamagiwa Daishiro, state minister for economic revitalization (made a donation to a church-related organisation in 2013)
• Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi
• Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki
• Transport minister Tetsuo Saito (Komeito)
• Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno

There are only two ladies on the team. Also back in the loop: Kono Taro as digitization minister.

A survey released Monday by the NHK public television showed support for Kishida's Cabinet fell to 46% from 59%.

Lineup of Kishida Cabinet (Source: Asahi)

* Prime Minister:
Fumio Kishida, 65, Lower House, LDP

* Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications:
Minoru Terada, 64, Lower House, LDP

* Justice Minister:
Yasuhiro Hanashi, 62, Lower House, LDP

* Foreign Minister:
Yoshimasa Hayashi, 61, Lower House, LDP

* Finance Minister:
Shunichi Suzuki, 69, Lower House, LDP

* Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology:
Keiko Nagaoka, 68, Lower House, LDP

* Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare:
Katsunobu Kato, 66, Lower House, LDP

* Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries:
Tetsuro Nomura, 78, Upper House, LDP

* Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry:
Yasutoshi Nishimura, 59, Lower House, LDP

* Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism:
Tetsuo Saito, 70, Lower House, Komeito

* Environment Minister:
Akihiro Nishimura, 62, Lower House, LDP

* Defense Minister:
Yasukazu Hamada, 66, Lower House, LDP

* Chief Cabinet Secretary:
Hirokazu Matsuno, 59, Lower House, LDP

* Minister for Digitization:
Taro Kono, 59, Lower House, LDP

* Reconstruction Minister:
Kenya Akiba, 60, Lower House, LDP

* National Public Safety Commission Chairman:
Koichi Tani, 70, Lower House, LDP

* Minister in Charge of Measures to Deal with the Declining Birthrate:
Masanobu Ogura, 41, Lower House, LDP

* Minister for Regional Revitalization
Naoki Okada, 60, Upper House, LDP

* Minister for Economic Revitalization:
Daishiro Yamagiwa, 53, Lower House, LDP

* Minister in Charge of Economic Security:
Sanae Takaichi, 61, Lower House, LDP

LDP EXECUTIVE LINEUP
Vice President:
Taro Aso, 81, Lower House

Secretary-General:
Toshimitsu Motegi, 66, Lower House

General Council Chair:
Toshiaki Endo, 72, Lower House

Policy Chief:
Koichi Hagiuda, 58, Lower House

Election Strategy Committee Chair:
Hiroshi Moriyama, 77, Lower House

 

[thomas]

Unfortunate Kishida: after his cabinet reshuffle last Wednesday, some twenty Japanese lawmakers appointed as deputies for cabinet members confirmed they had links to the Moonie cult. It seems that the Unification Church had its tentacles all over the place.

The revelations add to evidence of what could be a deeply ingrained network of contact between ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers and the Unification Church. Seven ministers in the revamped cabinet have also acknowledged their ties of some sort to the group under the renewed spotlight since the assassination of former premier Shinzo Abe. The religious group, known formally as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, was founded by a staunch anti-communist and is known for its mass weddings. It has drawn scrutiny over "spiritual sales," in which people are talked into buying jars and other items for exorbitant prices. The nature of ties to the church varies among the 20 of 54 lawmakers appointed as senior vice ministers and parliamentary vice ministers on Friday. Some had participated in events linked to the group, sent congratulatory messages and sold fund-raising party tickets.

Kishida's hopes for a fresh start seem shattered.

Kishida shaken as list of lawmakers linked to Unification Church grows to 20

At least 20 Japanese lawmakers appointed as deputies for cabinet members confirmed Friday that they had links to a controversial religious group, after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called for a self-check and review to appease a wary public. The revelations add to evidence of what could be a...

japantoday.com

More Unification Church-LDP ties emerge after Cabinet reshuffle | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

 

[nice gaijin]

This makes me wonder if Murakami's IQ84 was less fiction than I was let to believe.

 

[thomas]

I am glad that the media continue their efforts to scrutinise the political ties of the Unification Church. No rug is big enough to hide that affair.

According to a Kyodo News survey, over 100 Japanese lawmakers had links with Unification Church, with nearly 80 per cent belonging to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

Lawmakers from the LDP, now headed by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, accounted for 82 of the total, highlighting close ties between the main ruling party and the church, founded in South Korea in the 1950s and identified as a cult by critics.

Over 100 Japan lawmakers had links with Unification Church: survey

More than 100 of all the 712 lawmakers in Japan have had some connections with the controversial Unification Church, with nearly 80 percent of them belonging to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, a Kyodo News survey showed Saturday. In the survey with a response rate of over 80 percent, 106…

japantoday.com

Kono Taro, the newly installed digital minister who also oversees consumer affairs, told reporters he intended to set up a committee as early as this month to look into commercial activities and fundraising by some religious groups.

Shake-up fails to lift support for Japan's cabinet amid questions over church, surveys show

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet reshuffle appears to have done little to ease voter concerns amidst anger about the ruling party's ties to the Unification Church, opinion polls conducted by media groups indicated on Friday.

www.reuters.com