Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reshuffled his cabinet on Wednesday, removing some ministers with links to the Unification Church, in a bid to stem a decline in support for him amid growing public anger over the ruling party’s controversial ties to the group.
Kishida, who took office in October, announced his new government team in a quicker reshuffle than analysts had expected.
While key figures such as Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki retained their positions, some prominent ministers were dismissed, including Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, younger brother of slain Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was replaced by Yasukazu Hamada.
During the month following Abe’s shooting death, the LDP’s longstanding ties to the Unification Church were highlighted; Polls showed a significant drop in approval ratings for Kishida, and respondents indicated the need to know how close these relationships were.
Abe’s killer said that his mother was a member of the “Unification Church” who went bankrupt due to donating to the group, and blamed Abe for promoting it.
Japan’s public broadcaster NHK said on Monday that the latest poll showed support for him slipping to 46 percent from 59 percent just three weeks ago, the lowest approval rating for Kishida since he took office.
In other changes, Koichi Hagiuda, the minister of commerce, became head of the FDP’s Policy Research Council, a senior position in the party.
This appointment is seen as an attempt to placate members of Abe’s faction; The largest faction in the party, although Hagioda publicly admitted attending an event organized by a group linked to the Unification Church.
