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Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday dismissed his fourth minister in two months to patch a scandal-tainted Cabinet that has raised questions over his judgment of staff credentials.
Kenya Akiba, minister in charge of reconstruction of Fukushima and other disaster-hit areas, has faced allegations of mishandling political and election funds and of having murky ties to the Unification Church, whose cozy political ties and practices surrounding followers’ huge donations have raised controversy.
“I have made a heavy decision and submitted my resignation,” Akiba told reporters after meeting with Kishida. He repeated that he has never violated any law in relation to the issues for which he has been criticized.
Kishida tapped former reconstruction minister Hiromichi Watanabe as a replacement. Watanabe’s appointment was to be official after a palace ceremony.
Akiba’s dismissal was seen as Kishida’s attempt to remove an administration’s soft spot that could stall upcoming parliamentary work on a key budget bill, including hefty defense spending aimed at bolstering Japan’s strike capability.
