Tokyo, Japan: Japanese Internal Affairs Minister Mr. Minoru Terada has resigned over a funding scandal, making him the third cabinet member to leave in less than a month. The resignation is a severe setback to Prime Minister Mr. Fumio Kishida’s already vulnerable support in the cabinet.
Mr. Kishida’s approval ratings have dropped since the assassination of former Prime Minister Mr. Shinzo Abe, which exposed long-standing ties between ruling Liberal Democratic Party politicians and the Unification Church. Minister Terada submitted his resignation to Prime Minister following the speculations in the media.
The foundation of political commitment is the trust of the public. As a politician I must secure the public trust by bracing up and inspecting my surroundings.
Mr. Kishida declared.
According to the poll conducted by Asahi TV before the resignation of the Internal Affairs Minister, only 30.5 percent of respondents support Mr. Kishida.
More than 51 percent of the people disapproved of the way the Prime Minister handled the resignation of two previous ministers, Mr. Yasuhiro Hanash, Minister of Justice, and Mr. Daishiro Yamagiwa, Minister of Economic Revitalization.
Mr. Terada, who has been under criticism for a number of funding issues, has admitted that one of his supporters submitted funding documentation that was ostensibly signed by a deceased person.
The Prime Minister has announced that he has accepted Mr. Terada’s resignation in order to prioritize parliamentary debate, including conversations on an additional budget for the fiscal year that ends in March.