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Second Kishida Cabinet (First Reshuffle)

The Second Kishida Cabinet (First Reshuffle) was the 101st Cabinet of Japan and was formed by Fumio Kishida, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party and Prime Minister of Japan in August 2022. The cabinet governed Japan from 10 August 2022 to 13 September 2023.

The government was a coalition between the Liberal Democratic Party and the Komeito and controlled both the upper and lower houses of the National Diet. It succeeded the Second Kishida Cabinet on 10 August 2022.[1] The Reshuffled 101st Cabinet was formed following the assassination of Shinzo Abe, the former Prime Minister, which caused low approval ratings due to alleged ties to the Unification Church.[2]

Background

Announcement

On 6 August 2022 in Hiroshima, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced his decision to reshuffle his second cabinet on 10 August, after attending the 77th anniversary memorial ceremony of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by American jet. The reshuffle had previously been planned for early September 2022. Since the end of COVID-19 pandemic in Japan by October 2021, Kishida explained that the purpose of the reshuffle was to focus on issues like the assassination of Shinzo Abe, as well as the climate change, global inflation, war in Ukraine, and Taiwan Strait tensions.[3]

Controversies between Abe and the Unification Church

The reshuffle was widely reported as a response to the local criticism of ties between Kishida's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Unification Church (UC), following the assassination of the former prime minister, Shinzo Abe, on 8 July 2022.[3][4] The suspected shooter, Tetsuya Yamagami, revealed that his mother went bankrupt for donating most of the family's wealth and assets to the UC. Although the suspect originally planned to target the leader of the UC, Hak Ja Han, he switched to Abe because he was unable to approach Han, and he considered Abe as one of the most influential supporters of the UC.[5] The revelation renewed local interest in the allegedly long-standing relationship between the LDP and the UC since Abe's maternal grandfather Nobusuke Kishi's tenure,[6] as well as accusations against the UC's practices of collecting donations fraudulently, so-called "spiritual sales".[7] Public opinions on Kishida's decision to hold a state funeral for Abe on 27 September were also divided.[8][9]

According to a poll conducted by NHK from 5 to 7 August, the approval rating of Kishida's previous cabinet was 46%, down by 13% from a similar poll taken three weeks prior. Also 82% of respondents were not satisfied by the lawmakers' explanations of their ties to the UC.[10]

Kishida's responses regarding the Unification Church

Kishida stressed that the new cabinet would have all members closely examined with regard to their relationship with the UC,[3] but media reported that at least 30 members in the reshuffled cabinet were still related to the UC to various degrees.[11] One of the ministers who remained in office after this reshuffle, Daishiro Yamagiwa, received media scrutiny in particular for not disclosing his ties with the UC to the public before the reshuffle, as well as his ambiguous responses when being confronted by reporters about his ties to the UC.[12] Kishida accepted Yamagiwa's resignation on 24 October 2022 as the minister[13] following more evidences of Yamagiwa's ties to the UC surfaced and intense criticisms from the opposition parties in the parliament for his failure to remember his participation in events held by the UC and meetings with top UC officials, including the UC leader Hak Ja Han.[14]

After the cabinet reshuffle, a poll conducted from 20 to 21 August by Mainichi Shimbun showed that the approval rating of the new cabinet dropped to 36% by 16%, with 64% of respondents viewing the ties to the UC as a very serious problem.[15]

Kishida promised to cut ties with the UC[16] and help victims of manipulative sales by the UC.[17] Taro Kono, the minister of digital affairs who was also given the special mission for consumer affairs and food safety, established a spiritual sales review committee in the Consumer Affairs Agency on 29 August. This committee initially elected 8 experts in the UC matter including former prosecutor Shiori Kanno and Masaki Kito, a lawyer representing the National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales which has been providing legal aid for victims and reporting on the anti-social issues of the UC since 1987.[18] The committee was scheduled to hold publicly-viewable weekly online meetings. All committee members offered suggestions for strengthening regulations or enacting preventive measures against spiritual sales.[19]

Increase in military budget

In December 2022 the Kishida government announced a $320bn increase in military spending, due in part to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[20][21]

Election of the prime minister

List of ministers

Cabinet

Citation of this table: List of Second Kishida Cabinet (First Reshuffle) Members[23]

Changes

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary and Director-General of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau

Special advisors to the prime minister

State ministers

Parliamentary vice-ministers

References

  1. ^ "Japan's Kishida revamps Cabinet as public support slips". Kyodo News. 10 August 2022.
  2. ^ "Japan PM purges Cabinet after support falls over church ties". Associated Press. 10 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "PM Kishida announced cabinet and personnel reshuffle to be carried out on 10th" 岸田首相、内閣改造と自民党役員人事を正式表明 10日にも実施へ, Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese), 6 August 2022, archived from the original on 8 August 2022, retrieved 27 August 2022
  4. ^ "Why a church has become a headache for Japan's prime minister", Reuters, 16 August 2022, retrieved 27 August 2022 – via YouTube
  5. ^ "'My entire life has been being distorted' details on the letter of the suspect Yamagami" 「私の一生を歪ませ続けた」 山上容疑者の手紙詳報, The Sankei News (in Japanese), 17 July 2022, retrieved 27 August 2022
  6. ^ "List of lawmakers with ties to the Unification Church obtained! Including 34 people holding important positions in the successive administrations" 旧統一教会と「関係アリ」国会議員リスト入手！ 歴代政権の重要ポスト経験者が34人も. Nikkan Gendai (in Japanese). 16 July 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  7. ^ Fisher, Mark (12 July 2022). "How Abe and Japan became vital to Moon's Unification Church". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 13 July 2022.
  8. ^ "50% thought it was a 'good' decision to hold a state funeral for Abe. Opinions were sharply divided by age group with the younger generation being supportive by FNN Opinion Poll" 安倍元首相の国葬決定｢よかった｣50％…世代で逆転する評価 目立つ「若者の支持」 FNN世論調査, Fuji News Network (in Japanese), 25 July 2022, archived from the original on 30 July 2022, retrieved 27 August 2022
  9. ^ "53% opposed Abe's state funeral. Approval rating of the cabinet plunged to 51%" 安倍元首相国葬に反対53％ 内閣支持12ポイント急落51％, Kyodo News (in Japanese), 31 July 2022, retrieved 27 August 2022 – via Yahoo News
  10. ^ "46% approval rating of the Kishida Cabinet, a record low with 28% disapproval" 岸田内閣「支持」46％ 内閣発足後最低に 「不支持」28％, NHK (in Japanese), 8 August 2022, archived from the original on 9 August 2022, retrieved 9 August 2022
  11. ^ "At least 30 people in the Kishida Caninet crossed paths with the Unification Church like offering congratulatory messages, receiving election aid and buying party tickets" 岸田内閣、少なくとも30人が旧統一教会と“接点”…祝電、選挙支援、パーティー券購入も, Business Insider (in Japanese), 17 August 2022, retrieved 27 August 2022
  12. ^ "山際大臣"旧統一教会問題"こじらせで更迭論強まるも…岸田首相は切るも地獄、続けるも地獄", Nikkan Gendai (in Japanese), 4 September 2022, retrieved 4 September 2022 – via Yahoo News
  13. ^ "Japanese economic minister steps down over church links", Reuters, 24 October 2022, retrieved 25 October 2022
  14. ^ "接点次々発覚の山際大臣を事実上の更迭 旧統一教会問題での辞任は初 水面下で辞任話も...なぜこのタイミング？", Tokyo Broadcasting System (in Japanese), 25 October 2022, retrieved 25 October 2022
  15. ^ "Approval rating of the cabinet plunged to 36% by 13%, the lowest since its inauguration by Mainichi Shimbun Opinion Poll" 内閣支持率16ポイント急落36％　発足以降で最低　毎日新聞世論調査, Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese), 21 August 2022, retrieved 25 August 2022
  16. ^ "Thoroughly break off with the Unification Church. 'We accept criticisms from the public' said PM Kishida" 旧統一教会、関係断絶を徹底 「国民からさまざま指摘」 岸田首相, Jiji Press (in Japanese), 22 August 2022, retrieved 27 August 2022 – via Yahoo News
  17. ^ "PM Kishida said to help victims of the Unification Church. 'We will deal with it flexibly from the standpoint of the public'" 岸田総理 旧統一教会の被害者救済「国民の立場に立って柔軟に対応を」, Tokyo Broadcasting System (in Japanese), 22 August 2022, retrieved 27 August 2022 – via Yahoo News
  18. ^ "Lawyers Kito and Shiori Kanno are in the spiritual sales review committee of the Consumer Affairs Agency" 消費者庁の霊感商法検討会、委員に紀藤弁護士や菅野志桜里氏, The Sankei Shimbun (in Japanese), 26 August 2022, retrieved 27 August 2022
  19. ^ "紀藤弁護士「省庁横断できないなら特命大臣置くべき」消費者庁の霊感商法対策会議がスタート", Bengo4.com (in Japanese), 29 August 2022, retrieved 29 August 2022 – via Yahoo News
  20. ^ "Pacifist Japan unveils unprecedented $320bn military build-up". Al Jazeera Media Network. 16 December 2022.
  21. ^ Kelly, Tim; Murakami, Sakura (16 December 2022). "Pacifist Japan unveils biggest military build-up since World War Two". Reuters.
  22. ^ a b "第101代総理大臣に岸田文雄氏 衆・参本会議の指名選挙で選出". NHK. 10 November 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  23. ^ "List of Ministers". The Cabinet of Japan Prime Minister. 10 November 2021. Archived from the original on 11 November 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  24. ^ "Japan PM sacks scandal-hit internal affairs minister amid pressure". Kyodo News. 20 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  25. ^ a b "PM Kishida taps Takeaki Matsumoto as new internal affairs minister". Kyodo News. 21 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  26. ^ a b "Japan's justice minister dismissed over gaffes about death penalty". Kyodo News. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  27. ^ "PM Kishida to appoint Hayashi as foreign minister | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News". NHK WORLD. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  28. ^ a b "Reconstruction minister to be dismissed in blow to Kishida Cabinet". Kyodo News. 27 December 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  29. ^ "Ex-Japan health minister Goto replaces church-linked economy chief". Kyodo News. 25 October 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  30. ^ a b "第2次岸田改造内閣 副大臣26人 政務官28人決まる" (in Japanese). NHK. 12 August 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.

External links

Pages at the Prime Minister's Official Residence of Japan (English website):