Four ministers could be fired in Japan over an embezzlement scandal

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plans to dismiss four ministers, five senior vice ministers and six parliamentary vice ministers over a scandal involving the embezzlement of millions of yen in funds raised by the ruling party’s largest faction, Kyodo reported Sunday. News, citing its sources.

All of the officials named belong to the faction of the Liberal Democratic Party that was led by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated last summer. Among those who could be fired by Kishida are Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura, who were accused of failing to inform authorities about the funds received.

The suspects were estimated to have received between 1 million and 10 million yen ($6,800 to $68,000) and could be punished with up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 1 million yen, according to the fund control law. politicians of the country. Prosecutors are investigating the party’s failure to report millions of yen raised by Abe’s faction between 2018 and 2022 in the party’s income reports.

The president is expected to make the decision on changes to his cabinet this Wednesday after the end of the current extraordinary parliamentary session. Meanwhile, the population demands that Matsuno be removed as soon as possible. Among the suspects are other members of Abe’s faction, such as the faction’s general secretary, Tsuyoshi Takagi, who will be replaced, the Liberal Democratic Party’s policy chief, Koichi Hagiuda, and the party’s general secretary in the House of Representatives. Advisors, Hiroshige Seko. Likewise, sources indicated that Kishida’s faction is also involved in the scandal.

The scandal occurs amid a decline in the popularity of the Japanese government. Polls this fall showed a significant decline in the cabinet’s policy approval rating, hitting 32.3 percent, the lowest since Kishida took office two years ago. With RT

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